Pyongyang - Saba:
North Korean state media revealed on Friday that "Japan's new defense policy white paper shows Tokyo's pursuit of becoming a major military power, which justifies Pyongyang's nuclear program."
The Korean Central News Agency quoted a North Korean Foreign Ministry official as saying that "Japan's defense white paper, approved this week, presents a war scenario aimed at realizing Japan's ambition of reinvading from A to Z."
The agency added that "Japan's military activities demonstrate that North Korea's efforts to develop its nuclear arsenal are an indispensable contribution to curbing provocations by the United States and its allies."
The white paper was approved last Tuesday by the cabinet of Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, who noted that "China's increasing military activities could pose a serious threat to Japan's security, in light of the first confirmed incursion of a Chinese military aircraft into Japanese airspace." Japan's new defense policy report also considered North Korea's actions to pose "a more serious and urgent threat to Japan's national security than ever before."
Japan, like other countries, is pursuing a multi-year plan to increase its defense spending under pressure from the United States under President Donald Trump's second term, which emphasizes "defense burden sharing."
Tokyo is strengthening its military ties with Washington and other regional allies to improve the readiness of Japanese and American forces in the face of potential threats, such as a "possible Chinese invasion of Taiwan," according to Western media.
For its part, the Department of Japanese Studies at the North Korean Foreign Ministry said that "Japan is gradually escalating the regional situation to justify its reckless moves to transform into a military giant," according to the Korean Central News Agency.
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