Foreign News
North Korea Targets Japan As Regional Tensions Rise
North Korea has intensified its criticism of Japan’s military buildup and security ties with the United States and South Korea, accusing them of threatening regional stability.
More than a dozen state media attacks since early July have coincided with an unusual silence on North Korea’s own missile launches, raising questions about Pyongyang’s broader strategic messaging.
Why Is North Korea Talking More About Japan?
North Korean statements have targeted Japan’s acquisition of counter-strike capabilities, testing of a U.S.-made Tomahawk cruise missile, rising defence spending and Tokyo’s annual defence white paper.
North Korea has intensified criticism of Japan’s military buildup and U.S.-South Korea-Japan security ties. Kim Yo Jong warned of “additional military options,” while state media condemned Japan’s 2026 defence white paper and accused the three countries of forming a “nuclear alliance.”
Pyongyang also criticised the annual U.S.-South Korea military drills and Washington’s extended nuclear deterrence commitments, accusing the U.S. of lowering the threshold for nuclear weapons use.
How Has Japan Changed Its Defence Stance?
Japan announced plans in 2022 to double defence spending to 2% of GDP amid threats from China, Russia and North Korea, including acquiring long-range U.S.-made Tomahawk missiles. Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s government is expected to further revise its security strategy and boost spending on drones and domestic arms production.
Analysts say Pyongyang’s criticism of Japan is also aimed at deepening a U.S.-South Korea-Japan versus North Korea-China-Russia divide, strengthening ties with Beijing and Moscow and justifying its nuclear arsenal. South Korea similarly says North Korea sees Japan’s military expansion, Seoul’s nuclear-submarine plans and trilateral cooperation as threats to the regional balance of power.
Why Is North Korea Staying Silent About Its Missile Tests?
North Korea has stayed unusually silent about recent ballistic missile tests, despite condemnation from South Korea, Japan and the U.S. Analysts say the launches may have involved upgraded existing systems, possibly with Russian technical assistance, reducing their propaganda value or indicating potential military exports.
Growing military ties with Russia are central to the assessment. Analysts say battlefield feedback and Russian support may be helping North Korea improve its missiles, with recent tests potentially linked to systems being prepared for deployment or export to Moscow.
What Is North Korea Trying To Achieve?
Analysts say North Korea is seeking to cast the region in terms of competing blocs, with Pyongyang, Beijing and Moscow on one side and Washington, Seoul and Tokyo on the other.
Portraying U.S.-South Korea-Japan cooperation as an increasingly threatening military and nuclear alliance helps Pyongyang justify its weapons programmes, bolster Chinese and Russian backing and argue that its nuclear arsenal is a necessary response to a worsening security environment, they say.
(With inputs from Reuters)