Meanwhile, the commander of the Marine Corps of the south Korean army inspected forefront units in the West Sea of Korea fraught with the most acute tension around the New Year, crying out for stabbing "enemy troops with sharp daggers" in a bid to "get his soldiers combat ready".

Commenting on those developments, Rodong Sinmun Monday observes: The above-said facts go to prove once again that the peace on the Korean Peninsula and the improvement of the north-south relations touted by the south Korean authorities are no more than an empty talk.

The commentary cites detailed facts to prove that the south Korean military authorities have massively introduced war hardware into the peninsula, taking advantage of the military drills staged with the U.S. against the north under various codenames every year. It goes on:

Quite clear is the aim sought by the warmongers in stepping up the arms build-up by spending a huge amount of money, not content with threatening the compatriots in the north through such alarming arms race.

Their final scenario is to provoke a nuclear war against the north in collusion with the U.S.

It is none other than the U.S. and south Korean authorities who are escalating the tension and bringing the danger of a nuclear war to hang on the Korean peninsula while stemming the trend towards dialogue and peace.