Seoul, Jan 1, SPA -- North Korea on Sunday issued aNew Year's message in which it vowed to boost its militaryand accused Washington of seeking to start a new war on theKorean Peninsula, AP reported "Dark clouds of war are hovering over the Korean nation,(which) is ardently yearning for reunification. It is thereal intention of the U.S. not to hesitate to plunge theKorean nation to nuclear catastrophe," said an editorialcarried by the North's official Korean Central News Agencyand three state-run newspapers. North Korea often issues policy directives in New Year'sDay editorials. "The entire nation should firmly defend peace andsecurity on the Korean Peninsula by turning out in thestruggle to resolutely foil the U.S. attempt to launchanother war," the editorial said. "We must remove the root cause of war completely fromthis land by launching a nationwide campaign for drivingout the U.S. troops," it added. It also called for higher agricultural production in theimpoverished country, but added: "Whatever the situationis, the principled stand of our party and state to give toppriority to the military remains unchanged." --more 14 47 Local Time 11 47 GMT www.spa.gov.sa/316084