North Korea on Tuesday slammed the recent large-scale live-fire drill carried out by Japan’s Ground Self-Defense Force, claiming the drill was part of plans to complete what it called Japan’s capability for reinvasion.
Nodong Sinmun, the North’s main Rodong Workers’ Party newspaper, said in an article published Tuesday that Japan’s “counterstrike” capability is “in essence, a preemptive attack capability.”
The paper took issue with the drills conducted by Japan’s Ground Self-Defense Force on June 7 under a scenario of defending remote islands, saying the use of long-range missiles and high-speed glide projectiles showed Japan had entered a stage of fully practicing preemptive strikes.
“It has moved into the practical stage of directly involving typical preemptive strike equipment, such as long-range missiles, in exercises,” the paper said.
The North also claimed the exercise demonstrated Japan’s intent to translate its revised security policy into actual military operations. It said the GSDF’s use of live ammunition in a comprehensive firepower drill to train for counterstrike capabilities showed that Japanese authorities were “impatient to sound the gunfire of reinvasion.”
During the June 7 exercise, the Type 25 high-speed glide projectile was seen in photos released from the drill, but its exact range was not disclosed. Some local reports have put its possible range at up to 1,000 kilometers.
A 1,000-kilometer range would put much of western and central Japan within reach from North Korea, though Tokyo would generally lie beyond that range, depending on the launch point.
Japan has been strengthening its defense posture in recent years, including through plans to acquire counterstrike capabilities, increase defense spending and revise key security documents, citing a worsening regional security environment.
But Pyongyang has repeatedly denounced such moves as evidence of Japan’s return to militarism, arguing that Tokyo is using threats from North Korea and the region as a pretext to expand its offensive military capabilities.
The newspaper also cited Japan’s annual Defense White Paper, which describes North Korea as an “imminent threat,” claiming that this made clear “the primary target of preemptive attack and the main objective of reinvasion moves.”
Referring to Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s push for constitutional revision, higher defense spending and revisions to Japan’s three key security documents, the paper said the current Japanese Cabinet was concentrating all efforts on turning Japan into “a full-fledged war state” at an early date.
The criticism reflects North Korea’s broader attempt to frame Japan’s defense buildup as part of a US-led hostile security structure involving Washington’s allies, including South Korea.
“Japan’s behavior, gripped by illusions of the past and recklessly clinging to dangerous fire play while failing to see the changed balance of power, is drawing due vigilance and opposition from the international community,” it added.
flylikekite@heraldcorp.com
