Why is North Korea Criticizing Japan's 'Urgent Threat' Label?

Seoul, July 18 (NationPress) North Korea has sharply criticized Japan for characterizing it as an 'urgent threat' in the latest defense white paper, alleging that this portrayal serves as 'a war scenario' for aggression, while accusing Tokyo of attempting to mask its own ambitions to evolve into a 'military powerhouse.'

The Institute for Japan Studies, affiliated with North Korea's foreign ministry, issued this rebuke in a public statement disseminated by the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), just three days following Japan's release of its annual defense white paper.

This document identified North Korea, alongside Russia and China, as a 'serious and urgent threat' to Japan, expressing 'serious concerns' about the potential for North Korea to acquire nuclear and missile technologies from Russia due to military collaboration.

The statement from North Korea accused Japan of being fixated on its aspirations for reinvasion and focused on establishing preemptive strike capabilities, highlighting Japan's recent advancements in domestically produced long-range missiles and foreign weapon acquisitions. It also condemned the white paper as 'a war scenario intended to fulfill its ambitions for reinvasion,' warning that Japan's efforts to militarize pose serious risks to regional peace and security, which must never be accepted, as reported by Yonhap news agency.

'This is nothing but shameless sophistry to disguise the threatening nature of Japan, which is gradually escalating tensions in the region and justifying its reckless ambition to become a military giant, turning the entire archipelago into a military outpost and logistical base for advancing US hegemony in the Indo-Pacific,' the statement emphasized.

It claimed that Japan is diligently 'building capabilities for executing aggressive warfare, such as long-range strikes and trans-domain operations,' asserting that this marks a significant shift from its previous identity as a 'peace state.'

'The current developments clearly validate that North Korea's efforts to enhance its nuclear deterrence play a crucial role in effectively curbing provocations from the US and its allies,' the statement further asserted.

In a different commentary, KCNA also criticized Japan's collaborative project with the United Kingdom and Italy aimed at developing next-generation fighter jets, denouncing it as an effort to revive Japan's 'war alliance.'

'Japan's military modernization scheme is fundamentally tied to an attempt to resurrect its historical imperialism by reinstating its 'war alliance,' the KCNA stated, claiming that the joint fighter jet initiative lays the groundwork for initiating a war of aggression.