The regime is contemplating turning Jeju Island into a large naval base capable of simultaneously ensuring the anchorage of more than 20 Aegis destroyers, each of 7 000 ton class, and even the entry and departure of nuclear carriers till 2015.

This is a grave criminal move to push the military tension and danger of a nuclear war prevailing in the Korean Peninsula and the rest of Northeast Asia to an extreme phase, zealously pursuant to the U.S. imperialists' strategy to dominate the world.

The naval base on Jeju Island is a bridgehead and nuclear outpost for implementing the U.S. strategy of attaching importance to the Asia-Pacific region.

The U.S. has long kept its eyes on Jeju Island in a bid to build a new overseas military stronghold there.

Jeju Island just 500km away from Shanghai, China, as the crow flies, is regarded as a strategic fortress capable of controlling and blockading different waterways in the Asia-Pacific region. The U.S. has zealously egged the south Korean puppet regime on to build a naval base on the island with the calculation that if it puts the island under its control, it will be possible to further escalate the military and economic pressure upon the peninsula and the rest of Northeast Asia.

The construction of the naval base started in 1995 but it had long been put off due to the protest of south Koreans. It has made rapid progress since the Lee group came to power.

The U.S. pressurized the puppet regime to undertake all aspects of construction project including design and construction in such a way as to turn the naval base into a full-fledged base for nuclear carriers. By doing so, it brought to bolder relief its black-hearted intention to make Jeju Island a center for carrying out its strategy to dominate Asia.

It, at the same time, selected the naval base construction as a link in the chain efforts to build a missile shield linking Phyongthaek, Inchon, Kunsan and Kwangju, thus putting into practice its military blackmail against the Korean Peninsula and the rest of Northeast Asia.

The group of traitors seeks to turn the island into a maritime strategic fortress just like the U.S. naval bases in Hawaii and Guam, pursuant to its policy. This scenario is aimed at expanding its operational radius toward open sea while escalating the military threat to the DPRK.

The Jeju Island naval base construction is nothing but a product of collusion between the U.S. keen to realize its strategy for dominating the world and the puppet regime hell-bent on the moves to escalate the confrontation with fellow countrymen with the backing of the U.S., their master.

The regime asserted that the base is "a combined base for civilian and military ships" and "a fresh driving force for growth." But when it was disclosed that the project was premised on ensuring the entry and departure of nuclear carriers, it said that the naval base construction was aimed to swim with the "trend of making ships large-sized." This is nothing but sophism intended to cover up its sinister aims.

It is as clear as noonday that the military tension and the danger of a nuclear war will further escalate in the peninsula and the rest of Northeast Asia in case a large naval base allowing the entry and departure of U.S. nuclear carriers is built on Jeju Island.

All facts go to prove that the U.S. is an arch criminal wantonly threatening the peace and stability in the Asia-Pacific region and the puppet regime is the top-class pro-U.S. stooge unprecedented in history and a nuclear-war servant.

Intolerable are the regime's moves to turn Jeju Island into a nuclear outpost for the U.S.

The army and people of the DPRK will counter with merciless self-defence measures the last-ditch efforts of Lee Myung Bak and the "Saenuri Party" to bring the dark clouds of a nuclear war to hang over the nation in league with outside forces.