The full text of An Hyok Bom's article "What Is the Purpose of Drawing 'Upside-Down Map'?" is as follows:

Recently the US Forces Command in the Republic of Korea made public a map to become the topic of conversation among world people.

Marked in this strange map, in which the Korean Peninsula and the surrounding regions are turned upside down unlike normal maps, are the straight lines starting from Phyongthaek US military base in the ROK and terminating at Pyongyang, Beijing, Tokyo, Manila and other capital cities in Asia.

Days ago, the commander of the US forces in the ROK in a press conference hung the "upside-down map" which is reportedly being used by the US forces in the ROK as a military map for internal education from early this year and said that everyone can understand the reason why the "strategic flexibility" is definitely necessary and that the US forces in the ROK should sometimes move to other regions to maintain peace.

Then he said the geopolitical importance of the US forces in the ROK that can be promptly dispatched to any region in Asia and the necessity of expansion of their role beyond the Korean Peninsula for maintaining peace in the region can be recognized by intuition through the map.

It is the bizarre idea that can be thought out only by the United States which makes it inveterate habit to interpret everything in the world in reverse order.

The true nature of the expansion of "strategic flexibility" focused on invasion and war can neither be covered up nor its meaning interpreted in reverse order even though the United States inverted the map.

The map is a raw show of the aggressive intention of the United States to fulfill its wild ambition for hegemony in the Asian region at any cost by making the US forces in the ROK a mobile task force.

A military map is not merely a miniature of the lay of and things on the ground, but an operational map reflecting military action and tactics, and encirclement is a military concept that means attack, not defence.

The new map used by the US forces is a clear proof showing that the expansion of the "strategic flexibility" of the US forces in the ROK has evolved more offensively.

The map, which is designed for the US vassal forces, including the ROK, Japan, Taiwan and the Philippines, to encircle the DPRK and China, proves it.

It also reflects the hegemonic and aggressive plan for "one theatre" worked out by the United States and advocated by Japan, the Philippines and other satellite countries.

The plan for "one theatre" is saturated with the extremely provocative and dangerous attempts, including forming the US-led integrated operation commanding system, staging multilateral joint military exercises and reinforcing and deploying long-range attack means.

The map, depicting that the US military bases in Japan are to play the role of the main and logistic bases and the US military bases in the ROK of advanced and launching bases with the Korean peninsula and the East Sea and South Sea of China as theatres, gives a visual explanation of the US attempt for aggressive war against Asia.

The "upside-down map" highlighted the role played by the ROK in realizing the US strategy for dominating Asia.

The map is marked with arrows radiating from the US military base in Phyongthaek of the ROK. This clearly suggests that if a war breaks out in any region of Asia, the ROK should become its advanced base and launching base.

The "upside-down map” makes it possible to understand the role as an “aircraft carrier” of the ROK which is located closest to China and harbouring the only US forces base in the Asian continent.”

This is the interpretation of the commander of US forces in the ROK on the role of the ROK in the “upside-down map”.

After all, this map shows the true nature of the expansion of the "strategic flexibility" of the US forces in the ROK as it is a kind of the written order that 100 percent is the possibility of the ROK's entry into a war as a "shock brigade" of the United States in case a war breaks out in the Asia-Pacific region.

"The encirclement ring around China", "one theater" plan, "turning the ROK into the advanced base" …

This map is, indeed, a "map for invasion" which intensively shows the US attempt to invade Asia and nothing but a "visual board" disclosing by itself the fact that the main factor in destroying peace and stability in the Asia-Pacific region is none other than the United States.

The United States is making desperate efforts to justify the "strategic flexibility" of the US forces in the ROK even by drawing the unreasonable "upside-down map". But it should be aware that such move only reveals its aggressive nature obsessed with its ambition for hegemony.