"This anachronistic claim is aimed to harass peace and stability in Northeast Asia and spark off a new Cold War through speedy formation of the triangular military alliance," the commentary said.

"The U.S. planned escalation of the tension on the Korean Peninsula and its efforts to create the alliance under this pretext are another provocation to increase the military threat to the DPRK and drive the situation to the brink of a war," the paper added.

The news analyst said that the U.S. used the conspiratorial "Cheonan" sinking case for settling the issues of transfer of its forces' military base in Futenma and the extension of the wartime operation control in south Korea. It thus created a precedent of its naval task force's advance to the West Sea of Korea, providing an atmosphere favorable for making the alliance operational in actuality, the commentary observed.

"The U.S. orchestrated the Yonphyong Island incident under a sinister scenario to round off the elements of the alliance and lay a foundation for building NATO of Asian version," the paper said.

"This is evidenced by the crowded programs the U.S. JCS chairman had during his recent visits to Japan and south Korea to realize the first U.S.-Japan-south Korea military exercises in the wake of the U.S.-south Korea and the U.S.-Japan war maneuvers," the commentary noted.

"The Cold War-minded U.S. is gravely mistaken if it thinks it can emerge a 'victor' by holding a military edge in Northeast Asia and sparking off a hot war," the newspaper concluded.