Seoul  - Communist North Korea plans to strengthen its military
deterrence in 2009 and at the same time kick-start the country's ailing
economy, a joint editorial of the three state-run newspapers said
Thursday.

At the same time, the editorial stressed Pyongyang's determination to
go ahead with the denuclearization of the Korean peninsula, while at
the same time accusing South Korea of pursuing a confrontational policy.

"The independent foreign policy of our Republic to denuclearize the
Korean peninsula and defend the peace and security of Northeast Asia
and the rest of the world is demonstrating its validity more fully as
the days go by," the papers said.

Three weeks before US president-elect Barack Obama is to take office,
North Korea's papers refrained from criticizing the United States, a
sharp contrast to previous years.

In October, Washington removed North Korea from a terrorism blacklist,
as Pyongyang agreed in international negotiations with the United
States, China, Russia, Japan and South Korea to dismantle its nuclear
weapons programme.

The six-party talks, however, hit an impasse in early December over North Korea's refusal to verify its disarmament.

The Stalinist state emphasized its "military first" doctrine issued by North Korean leader Kim Jong Il in 2008.

"We should continue to put utmost efforts into building up the
country's military strength in line with the requirements of the
prevailing situation and the development of the revolution," the
editorial said.

At present, however, overcoming food shortages was a pressing problem as was increasing output in all sectors of the economy.

North Korea has been dependent on foreign aid for years. Years of
economic mismanagement, natural disasters and the loss of support after
the collapse of the Soviet Union are regarded as the main reasons for
the crisis.

South Korea's government was responsible for the deterioration of
relations, the papers said, accusing Seoul of plans to "re-establish
the era of fascist dictatorship."

Inter-Korean relations deteriorated after Seoul's new conservative
government embarked on a less lenient policy towards the North, which
repeatedly rejected South Korean offers for dialogue. (dpa)