N. Korean media condemns Japan for seeking to revise constitution

SEOUL, Oct. 17 (Yonhap) -- North Korea's media on Wednesday condemned Japan for seeking to repeat its history of invasion through constitutional revision.

The North's Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) made the condemnation in its coverage of Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's reelection as president of the Liberal Democratic Party and his pledge to push to revise the constitution by 2020.

The KCNA accused Abe and his political group of "getting more hell-bent on the retrogressive revision" of the constitution in an attempt to amend it within next year and enforce a new constitution in 2020.

Abe said after his election that he would push ahead with the revision of the constitution and his party would work hard to get widespread agreement for submitting the bill on the revision of the constitution to the Diet, according to the KCNA.

The KCNA then introduced a commentary in English by the official Rodong Sinmun, which criticized Abe and the Japanese ruling quarters for revealing deep-rooted ambition for militarism.

"Japan, which has styled itself 'peace state' under the existing constitution, started in earnest to make itself an extremely dangerous war-capable state for aggression on the world through the revision of the constitution," said the Rodong Sinmun, the organ of the Workers' Party of Korea.

"The Japanese reactionaries remain unchanged in their ambition and strategic aim to realize the old dream of the 'Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere' at any cost."

It then warned that if Japan is allowed to amend the constitution, it will pose a threat to peace of the Korean Peninsula and the rest of Asia and the past history of bloody aggression will be repeated.

"Any country which desires peace and security should increase vigilance against the more undisguised moves of the Japanese reactionaries for overseas expansion," said the newspaper.
(END)