The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) has strongly criticized Japan’s 2025 defense white paper, labeling it a “war scenario” aimed at fulfilling Japan’s ambitions for reinvasion. The state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported on Friday that the DPRK views Japan’s defense plans as a serious threat to regional peace and security.
According to the KCNA, a policy section chief of the Institute for Japan Studies under the DPRK’s foreign ministry stated that Japan has revised its National Security Strategy to include “preemptive attack capabilities.” In recent years, Japan has accelerated the development of domestically produced long-range missiles and increased the procurement of foreign-made ones.
The report highlighted that Japan has raised its defense budget to a record high for 2025, enhancing its military capabilities on a full scale. As part of these efforts, Tokyo is purchasing approximately $3.7 million worth of medium-range air-to-air missiles, long-range air-to-surface cruise missiles, and related equipment from the United States.
Japan is also considering deploying 400 U.S.-made Tomahawk long-range cruise missiles and Type 12 surface-to-ship missiles, which have ranges extending over 1,000 kilometers. The KCNA report emphasized that Japan, traditionally presenting itself as a “peace state” under the principle of “exclusive defense,” is now working to develop offensive capabilities, including long-range strikes and cross-domain warfare.
The DPRK statement condemned Japan’s defense white paper as a comprehensive plan for reinvasion, asserting that such moves toward militarization pose a significant threat to regional stability. “Japan’s moves for turning itself into a military giant seriously threatening regional peace and security can never be tolerated,” the KCNA said.
