North Korea Warns over Japan's Rearmament

North Korea's state news agency KCNA has criticized Japan's military expansion, warning that Tokyo's overseas aggression "is not hypothetical, but real". The commentary focused on Japan's plans to develop autonomous unmanned submarines capable of carrying out anti-ship attacks with torpedoes and naval mines.

According to Pyongyang, the vessels could be deployed near the coasts of neighboring countries to conduct preemptive strikes. KCNA argued that Japan is abandoning its long-standing doctrine of exclusively defensive military policy and transforming its armed forces into an offensive force.

The commentary also highlighted Japan's production of long-range missiles, development of a new ballistic missile with a range of up to 3,000 km, deployment of hypersonic weapons and purchase of US Tomahawk cruise missiles. Japan's Foreign Ministry did not respond to a request for comment.

The criticism comes as North Korea continues to modernize its own navy. On Sunday, leader Kim Jong-un personally oversaw the launch of a cruise missile from the new 5,000-metric-ton destroyer Kang Kon and ordered the vessel to enter service within two months.

Pyongyang recently commissioned a second destroyer, Choe Hyon, and plans to build a new class of 10,000-metric-ton warships.

(Reuters, Max)