Kuala Lampur, April 15 --  

SEOUL, April 15 - North Korea accused Japan of a "grave provocation" today after Tokyo laid out its opposition to Pyongyang's nuclear programme in an annual diplomatic paper.

The countries do not have formal diplomatic relations, and Pyongyang frequently criticises Tokyo over its colonial rule of the Korean peninsula, which ended with World War II.

The Japanese foreign ministry released its annual bluebook last week, detailing Tokyo's official diplomatic views and repeating its opposition to North Korea having nuclear weapons.

The position is "a grave provocation encroaching upon the sovereign rights, security interests and development rights of our sacred state", an unnamed North Korean foreign m...