N. Korea blasts Japan’s $320bn ‘security strategy’, calls it ‘new aggression policy’

Pyongyang’s foreign ministry spokesperson made the remarks in a statement carried by the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), saying that Japan’s new military build-up, the biggest since World War II, has “fundamentally changed” the regional security environment.

“Japan is bringing a serious security crisis on the Korean Peninsula and in the East Asia region by adopting a new security strategy that effectively acknowledges its pre-emptive strike capabilities against other countries,” the official said in the statement.

Japan unveiled a new $320 billion security strategy that outlined plans for the country’s military to mount “counter-strike capabilities”, and to respond to the threats posed by China, Russia, and North Korea.

The five-year military strategy will see the Asian country become the world’s third-largest military spender after the United States and China.

The spokesperson denounced Japan’s “new aggression policy” as a violation of the United Nations Charter and warned Pyongyang “will continue to show the scale of our concern and dissatisfaction in actual action.” 

“The DPRK makes it clear once again that it has the right to take a resolute and decisive military step to defend its national sovereignty, territorial integrity and fundamental interests… caused by Japan’s action,” said the statement carried by the North’s KCNA news agency.

The official emphasized the North’s right to take “resolute and decisive military steps” due to Japan’s “wrong and very dangerous choice.”

In a separate statement on Tuesday, Kim Yo Jong, the sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, strongly criticized both the South and Japan for respectively trying to impose fresh sanctions on Pyongyang to stop its weapons development program and adopting a threatening military strategy.  

The spokesperson also slammed the United States for “exalting and instigating Japan’s rearmament and re-invasion plan,” saying Washington had no right to raise the issue with Pyongyang’s efforts to bolster North Korea’s defense.

Last week Japan broke away from its defense-only postwar principle and announced plans to equip itself with first attack-capable missiles, to develop a more offensive footing against what it characterized as “threats” from China.

In response to Japan’s attempt to expand its armed forces, China sailed its most powerful aircraft carrier group Liaoning across the Miyako Strait to enter the West Pacific for routine drills.

The flotilla is expected to host a number of realistic combat-oriented exercises beyond the first island chain, enhancing its capabilities in safeguarding national sovereignty, territorial integrity and development interests, military experts said.

Meanwhile, North Korea on Monday claimed progress in its efforts to acquire a spy satellite, saying that it had launched a test satellite releasing low-resolution, black-and-white photos that showed a view from space of Seoul and the nearby city of Incheon.