Kim Yo Jong, the influential sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, cautioned on Wednesday that Pyongyang may pursue “additional military options” in response to Japan’s recent test-firing of American-made Tomahawk cruise missiles.
In a statement released by the state news agency KCNA, Kim alleged that the Japanese military is abandoning its purely defensive role. She claimed Tokyo is transforming into a military force capable of launching “preemptive attacks”.
The warning specifically cited the testing of a Tomahawk missile from the Aegis destroyer Chokai in the Pacific Ocean. Kim also pointed to other missile launches and Japan’s involvement in US-led military exercises held in the Philippines during May.
Kim said North Korea’s response would ensure Tokyo perceives its security as being “exposed to greater danger”. Using some of her most aggressive language toward Japan in months, she remarked: “We should make it regret”, reports Al Jazeera.
The United States was also accused of facilitating Japan’s military expansion by providing the Tomahawk missiles, assisting in ship modifications, and supporting the tests.
Kim said Washington is the driving force behind Japan’s “dangerous military moves”.
This rhetoric follows a pattern of criticism from Pyongyang regarding the security alliance between the US, South Korea, and Japan.
Since July, state media has published at least six commentaries condemning these trilateral activities as threats to regional stability and catalysts for tension on the Korean Peninsula.
Experts believe Pyongyang is framing Japan’s military modernisation as a threat to provide a pretext for its own weapons programmes.
Yang Moo-jin, a professor at the University of North Korean Studies in Seoul, noted that Kim’s remarks suggest Japan is acting as a US proxy to counter North Korea.
Lim Eul-chul, a professor at Kyungnam University’s Institute for Far Eastern Studies, suggested this messaging might be a precursor to future North Korean military displays, such as missile tests or new undersea strike capabilities.
