The United States was to blame for the tension on the Korean peninsula and would provoke punishing action from the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), the official Korean Central News Agency cited an government spokesman as saying Sunday.

US moves to set up a "combined air-force command" with South Korea and refresh its military operation plan against the DPRK "fully represent the scheme of US war hawks to stifle the DPRK militarily and permanently occupy South Korea," a spokesman for the Korean National Peace Committee said.

The DPRK would mobilize all defense forces to punish the invaders, the spokesman warned, urging the United States to drop its hostile policy against the DPRK and withdraw all military forces from South Korea.

He also called on South Koreans to launch anti-US and anti-war campaigns in a bid to secure peace and stability on the peninsula.

(Xinhua News Agency February 16, 2009)