North Korea criticizes Japan’s military buildup, vows “action”

North Korea’s foreign ministry calls Japan’s new $320 billion security strategy “wrong and dangerous” and promises a response.

North Korea condemned Japan’s planned military buildup and vowed to take action against what it described as Tokyo’s “wrong and dangerous choice” to bolster its defense sector.

Tuesday’s statement from North Korea’s foreign ministry comes just days after Japan unveiled a new $320 billion security strategy that outlined plans for the Japanese military to mount “counter-strike capabilities” and respond to the threats posed by China, Russia and North Korea. .

Japan’s comprehensive five-year military strategy will see the country become the world’s third-biggest military spender after the United States and China.

Japan’s new security strategy effectively formalizes a “new policy of aggression” and fundamentally changes the East Asian security environment, a spokesman for Pyongyang’s foreign ministry said in a report published by the Korean Central News Agency. North (KCNA).

In response to Japan’s decision to “carry out unfair and excessive ambition,” North Korea “will continue to show how concerned and disgusted we are with the practical action,” the spokesman said.

The spokesman criticized the United States for “glorifying and instigating Japan’s reinvasion and rearmament plan,” adding that Washington had no right to raise issues with Pyongyang’s efforts to bolster its own defenses.

North Korea’s efforts to enhance military capabilities have included a record number of ballistic missile launches this year, including missiles capable of carrying nuclear payloads and with varying ranges that could reach the mainland United States and its allies, Korea South and Japan.

North Korea claimed progress Monday in its efforts to acquire a spy satellite, saying it had launched a test satellite and posted low-resolution black-and-white photos showing a view from space of the South Korean capital Seoul. , and the nearby city of Incheon.

Some analysts in South Korea said the images were too crude to be satellite photos, according to South Korea’s Yonhap news agency.

North Korea responded to those criticisms on Tuesday, with Kim Yo Jong, the powerful sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, saying it was “inappropriate and hasty” to assess their country’s satellite capabilities from those two photos alone.

Pyongyang’s efforts to develop a spy satellite were a “pressing priority directly related to our security,” he said, adding that additional sanctions against his country would not stop such technological developments.

South Korea will seek international support and “will endeavor to impose additional sanctions on us,” it added.

“But, with our right to survival and development threatened, why are we afraid of sanctions…and why should we stop?”