[Asia Economy Reporter Yoo In-ho] North Korea strongly condemned Japan for denouncing its ballistic missile launch.
On the 24th, the North Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated in an article titled “Japan’s Reckless Hostile Policy Toward Korea Will Only Lead to Miserable Destruction” that regarding Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s recent remarks condemning North Korea’s ballistic missile launch, “The problem lies in their insistence that our missile launch violates the UN Security Council resolutions and their mention of the abduction issue, which no longer exists.”
Earlier, from the 19th to the 21st, Prime Minister Kishida held separate summits with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen, and through joint statements expressed serious concerns over North Korea’s ballistic missile launches and reaffirmed the importance of denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs claimed, “This is a legitimate exercise of self-defense rights to actively respond to the security environment created in the Korean Peninsula, the world’s largest hotspot, and the Asia-Pacific region, ensuring the safety of the nation and its people,” adding, “It does not pose any harm to the safety of neighboring countries.”
It further labeled Japan as a “war criminal country” and criticized, “Their persistent attempts to pick on our missile launches while visiting various countries are a reckless act aimed at legitimizing their aggressive military buildup and realizing their ambitions for re-invasion.”
Regarding the issue of Japanese abductees, it stated, “It is already an irreversibly and perfectly resolved issue,” and criticized, “Their purpose is to cover up their large-scale anti-humanitarian crimes, including the forced abduction of Koreans, and to justify their anti-Republic hostile policies.”
It concluded by urging, “Asian countries should not listen to Japan’s cunning and shameless sophistry but should do what helps stabilize the situation on the Korean Peninsula,” and called on “Japan to exercise restraint and self-reflection.”
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