North Korea's Kim Yo Jong warns Japan over expanding strike capabilities

Pyongyang signalled possible new military steps after Japan tested a U.S.-made Tomahawk cruise missile, Reuters reported.

North Korea's Kim Yo Jong, the powerful sister of leader Kim Jong Un, warned that Pyongyang would adopt “additional military options” in response to what she called Japan's transformation into a military power.

The statement, carried by state media KCNA on Wednesday, followed Japan's recent test-firing of a U.S.-made Tomahawk cruise missile from the Aegis destroyer Chokai in the Pacific Ocean.

Kim accused Tokyo of moving beyond a defensive posture and turning its armed forces into a force capable of pre-emptive attacks and overseas military operations. She also cited other missile tests and Japan's participation in a U.S.-led joint military drill in the Philippines in May.

“We should make it regret,” Kim said, adding that North Korea would respond in ways that made Japan feel its security had been exposed to greater danger.

U.S. role criticised

Kim also accused the United States of enabling Japan's military buildup by supplying Tomahawk missiles, modifying vessels for their operation and supporting the missile tests.

“The U.S. is behind such dangerous military moves of Japan,” she said.

Kim, who heads the record-keeping department in North Korea's ruling party, said Japan's acquisition of long-range strike capabilities effectively placed North Korea and other neighbouring countries within range.

Analysts see message for future tests

The statement is the latest in a series of North Korean commentaries criticising security cooperation among the United States, South Korea and Japan. Since July, KCNA has published at least six editorials and commentaries denouncing joint military activities as threatening regional security and raising tensions on the Korean Peninsula.

Analysts said Pyongyang is seeking to portray Japan's military modernisation as a direct security threat to justify its own weapons development.

Yang Moo-jin, a professor at the University of North Korean Studies in Seoul, said Kim's comments attempt to frame Tokyo's steps as part of a broader U.S. effort to strengthen its proxy military capabilities to counter North Korea.

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Lim Eul-chul, a professor at Kyungnam University's Institute for Far Eastern Studies, said the messaging could lay the groundwork for possible future military demonstrations, including missile tests or displays of undersea strike capabilities.

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North Korea Kim Yo Jong Japan Tomahawk United States military options