N.Korea Upset at Becoming South's 'Main Enemy' Again

North Korea on Thursday accused the South of trying to drum up public support for war, taking issue with the revival of the term "main enemy" when referring to the North.

"The South Korean conservative regime's attempt to include in its defense white paper the concept of the North being the main enemy is designed to put a war against our republic in writing," the Minju Choson, the organ of the North Korean Cabinet, said Thursday. "This is an intolerable act of treason, arousing the indignation of our armed forces and people."

It warned if the South "provokes a war, it will taste the power of the war deterrent that our military and people have been strengthening. It will have no time for regret. This is not empty talk."  

The official North Korean Web site Uriminzokkiri on Wednesday called moves to restore the term "main enemy" in the defense white paper, which was struck during the Roh Moo-hyun administration, "the most wicked theory of confrontation and war," and added, "If the conservative faction takes the path of all-out confrontation and war, it will not escape ignoble destruction."