North Korea slams Japan's defense white paper as 'reinvasion-minded'

North Korea on Tuesday denounced Japan’s latest defense white paper as a “reinvasion-minded” document that aims to legitimize the “operation of its war machine.”

Japan had earlier released its defense white paper on Aug. 4, in which it describes North Korea’s military expansion as posing a “grave and imminent threat” to its national security.

In turn, North Korea appears to be framing Japan’s military as a growing threat as it forges a common front with China and Russia in response to closer security cooperation among South Korea, the United States and Japan.

“Japan, a war criminal state responsible for inflicting a great disaster upon humankind in the first half of the 20th century […] is bolstering its military power out of vengeance for its defeat for over 80 years,” Kang Won-chol, an international security analyst, said in a commentary carried by the state-run Rodong Sinmun.

“This poses an imminent and serious threat to the world at present. Japan groundlessly described the DPRK and other neighboring countries as a ‘serious and imminent threat’ and the ‘greatest strategic challenge’ to justify its reckless arms buildup,” Kang added, referring to North Korea by the acronym for its official name, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.

The analyst also criticized Japanese Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi for using the white paper to stress the need to strengthen Japan’s defense capabilities.

“This clearly shows how desperately he is pushing Japan into following an extremely dangerous road in the vanguard for militarization,” Kang said.

North Korea has stepped up its antagonistic rhetoric toward Japan this month through a series of statements targeting what it describes as Tokyo’s push toward remilitarization, with its state media having cited anti-Japan remarks by spokespeople for China’s foreign and defense ministries seven times this month alone. The repeated coverage appears to underscore North Korea’s alignment with China against Japan.

Pyongyang is seen as characterizing Tokyo’s rearmament as a tangible military threat to justify its own military expansion while emphasizing coordination with Beijing and Moscow to counter security cooperation among Seoul, Tokyo and Washington, South Korean analysts said.

“North Korea’s […] criticism is aimed not only at Japan but also at actively exploiting the ‘South Korea-U.S.-Japan versus North Korea-China-Russia’ framework,” Oh Gyeong-seob, a senior research fellow at the Korea Institute for National Unification, said. “It may also be aimed at justifying its own military buildup and securing support from China and Russia.”

Japan’s recent defense white paper is the first of its kind since Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi took office. The report identified deepening military ties among North Korea, China and Russia as a major threat to East Asian security, warning that a “serious situation similar to Russia’s aggression against Ukraine may occur in East Asia.” It also reiterated Japan’s territorial claim to Dokdo, Korea’s easternmost islets, for the 22nd consecutive year.

BY CHUNG YEONG-GYO [lee.soojung1@joongang.co.kr]