North Korea slams Japan's defence paper as justification for military buildup
Seoul, Aug 11
North Korea on Tuesday denounced Japan's latest defence white paper, calling it an attempt to justify the country's military buildup and describing it as a legal basis for "the operation of war machine."
Kang Won-chol, an international security analyst, made the claims in an article published by the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) and the Rodong Sinmun, the most widely read newspaper in the North.
Kang said the white paper came out at a time when "Japan has been rushing headlong into militarisation, seized with an ambition for reinvasion," Yonhap News Agency reported.
He argued Japan had "groundlessly" described North Korea as a "serious and imminent threat" in the white paper to justify its "reckless" military buildup.
"It is nothing but an act of turning black into white that Japan stipulated the 'threat' from neighbouring countries in the white paper although it has been putting spurs to the tightening of the alliance with the U.S. and its followers after setting it as a 'state policy' to negate its past crimes and realise its ambition to become a military power," he wrote.
He also cited Japanese Defence Minister Shinjiro Koizumi's call to strengthen the country's military capabilities following the release of the white paper as evidence of Tokyo's push toward militarisation.
"This clearly shows how desperately he is pushing Japan into following an extremely dangerous road in the vanguard for militarisation," he argued.
"No matter how hard Japan tries to describe its real intention for aggression as 'defence,' it will never conceal its true colours as a root cause of endangering the peace and escalating the tensions in the region," he added.
He, then, sought to justify North Korea's own military buildup, arguing that strengthening its military capabilities was necessary to deter what it described as the hostile intentions of other countries.
Japan published its first defence white paper under the current Sanae Takaichi government last Tuesday. The paper called for military modernisation, including the integration of cutting-edge technologies, such as drones and artificial intelligence, as well as closer cooperation with allies to address growing security concerns in the region.
An official at South Korea's unification ministry said the ministry did not place much weight on what it described as Pyongyang's "annual" denunciation of Japan's defence white paper.
"North Korea's criticism of Japan's defence white paper is not unusual in itself," the official said, while noting the increasing volume of such criticism in recent days, including Pyongyang's escalating condemnation of trilateral cooperation among South Korea, the United States and Japan.
"We see it as Pyongyang's attempt to justify its nuclear weapons program and align itself with China and Russia," the official said, adding, "We will watch the situation closely."
— IANS
Reader Comments
Honestly, both sides are posturing for domestic audiences. North Korea's constant missile tests don't help regional peace, but Japan's increasing militarization is concerning too. India has always advocated for dialogue, and this back-and-forth isn't helping. We need more diplomacy in the region, not more arms.
North Korea calling out Japan's military buildup is rich coming from a country that's constantly developing nukes. Japan's defense white paper is about protecting its people, something Pyongyang should try for a change. The South Korean official's comments about Pyongyang justifying its nuclear program seem spot on to me.
As someone from India, I see this as classic great power politics. Japan wants to expand its military, North Korea wants to justify its nukes, and both are using each other as convenient bogeymen. South Korea's middle position is interesting - they're caught between these two and the US. The whole region needs stronger multilateral institutions instead of relying on Cold War-era alliances.
North Korea's criticism is predictable, but that doesn't mean Japan is innocent. Their white paper specifically names neighbors as threats while expanding military budgets. We saw what Japanese militarism did in the 20th century - history matters. But I also agree with the South Korean official; Pyongyang is clearly using this to justify its own nuclear program and cozy up to China and Russia. It's all very frustrating.
The irony in this whole situation is palpable. Japan talks about threats while beefing up military, North Korea talks about defense while testing missiles. Neither is genuinely interested in peace. As an Indian, I just hope
We welcome thoughtful discussions from our readers. Please keep comments respectful and on-topic.