North Korea on Thursday accused Japan of "ulterior motives" in its defense white paper that refers to the North as a threat to peace in Northeast Asia.

In its National Defense White Paper for 2005 published on August 2, the Japanese Defense Agency termed North Korea as "a major factor of instability" in Northeast Asia.

"It is nothing but sheer sophism confusing right and wrong, marking another vicious act of Japan to stigmatizing North Korea," says the official Rodong Sinmun newspaper in a signed commentary.

According to the commentary, the Japanese government has been busy strengthening its military power for "another invasion into North Korea and Asia," while spreading its spirit of militarism within the country. This has aroused widespread concern around the world, the article says.

The real threat to stability in Northeast Asia is not North Korea but Japan itself, the commentary concludes.

(Xinhua News Agency August 12, 2005)