This photo provided by the Japan Ground Self-Defense shows the Type 12 surface-to-ship missile, April 7, 2022. Yonhap
North Korea on Thursday denounced Japan for considering deploying long-range missiles on its southwestern island of Kyushu, warning that the move would make it exposed to attacks by neighboring countries as a "common target."
Japanese media earlier reported that Japan is considering the deployment of long-range missiles on Kyushu in an effort to secure "counterstrike capabilities." The deployment of such missiles, capable of striking North Korea and China's coastal areas, is expected to start in March 2026.
The chief of policy section at the institute of Japanese studies of North Korea's foreign ministry issued a statement condemning Japan's "reckless possession of preemptive attack capability," according to the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).
Japan's "'bold action' is a dangerous provocation that will bring about constant escalation of tension by sowing the spark of new military conflict in Northeast Asia," the KCNA said.
North Korea claimed the move proved that Japan has been seeking its "wild ambition of militarism" while making a feint of being a "pacifist nation to the international community.
"Japan's reckless possession of preemptive attack capability to put neighboring countries in the striking range while seeking a chance for re-invasion will, on the contrary, expose its archipelago to the attack by righteous regional countries as a common target," the official said. (Yonhap)
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