The south Korean Marine Corps opened fire at a passenger plane on its routine flight on June 17, the paper said.

Had the south-north joint declarations been implemented, such case would not have occurred, it noted. The south and the north agreed in the June 15 joint declaration and the October 4 declaration on the ways for the independent settlement of the reunification issue and the development of the south-north relations, peace and prosperity. But the Lee Myung Bak regime denied the declarations, bringing the danger of a war only.

The military authorities are taking such an attitude that they did what they should have done, stunning the world, the paper said, adding this proves what a serious stage the consciousness of confrontation of the present regime has reached.

The tension mounting in the Korean Peninsula poses a serious threat to peace and security, it noted.

It is urgent to take measures to improve the south-north relations that have been pushed to the worst phase, it added.