PYONGYANG — The true intention of the Japanese neo-militarist force to formalize the possession of nuclear-powered submarines is to "secure a stepping-stone to the possession of nuclear weapons in the long-run," the official Korean Central News Agency said in a commentary on Thursday.

The article noted the latest statements by Japanese Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi on several occasions that the possession of nuclear weapons and nuclear-powered submarines should not be ruled out when it came to the revision of the country's three key security documents.

By changing the wording of the "capability for attacking enemy base" and "three principles of arms export" to the "capability for counterattack" and "three principles of defense equipment transfer," the commentary said, Japan has removed its shackles, namely its identity as a war criminal state, in a way to avoid public criticism with such terminology tricks.

"Worse still, the Japanese neo-militarists are working hard to revise the Pacifist Constitution," it stressed.

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The article said that the Japanese rulers are making a fuss about what they called "ever-worsening surrounding security environment," branding such moves as "a petty trick" to systematically pull down the institutional and legal barriers to building up aggression forces and cross the threshold for the building of nuclear-armed forces by hyping the need to "bolster up independent deterrence."

What should not be overlooked is that the United States has given the green light to Japan's possession of nuclear-powered submarines in order to use the Asian country as a shock brigade for implementing its hegemonic strategy, it added.

"There is no guarantee that Japan will not launch a preemptive nuclear attack at any time if it has access to a nuclear-powered submarine," warned the commentary.

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Japan has discarded the veil of its "exclusive defense" doctrine, and is now pursuing the possession of a nuclear-powered submarine, not even content with its frantic effort to develop and deploy various ultra-modern attack weapons that have its neighboring countries within striking range, it said.

Such neo-militarist moves of Japan and the backstage manipulation by the United States "have become a fundamental factor that causes military imbalance and creates a new structure of fierce conflict in the region," the commentary stressed.