North Korea has frequently denied that it posed a threat to invade the South, claiming that only a threat to invade the North existed. For Kim Jong-il to directly make such a statement, however, is unprecedented. The broadcast did not reveal, however, when and where Kim had made such a remark.

The editorial went on to criticize South Korea’s military, claiming it has become the “shock troops of a U.S. invasion of the North,” and said Seoul’s “independent defense” plans amounted to “powdering the face of schemes to make ready an invasion of the North so as to make them appear as if they were for self-defense.”

It also said the acquisition of new-model Patriot missiles by South Korea was so Seoul could get its food in the door of the U.S. missile defense system, and that claims the acquisition was to develop South Korea’s own air defense system were just an excuse.

It said South Korea was submitting to U.S. pressure and spending a ton of money on defense to keep U.S. forces in Korea, justifying the costs as unavoidable expenditures for security. It also claimed that South Korea added massive fighting power while assuming 10 missions from USFK, and Seoul nakedly revealed its intention to push full-scale military industry research while expanding and reorganizing the Joint Chiefs of Staff to greatly strengthen its capacity to conduct a war.

The broadcaster said the “independent defense” plans pushed by “South Korean warmongers” were to convert the South Korean military into “shock troops of a provocative scheme to harm those of the same race by replacing the U.S. imperialist invasion force,” calling the use of the South Korean military to minimize U.S. military casualties as much as possible while carrying out pre-emptive strikes against the North “sneaky U.S. imperialism.”

(englishnews@chosun.com )