North Korea has criticized Japan for equipping its Aegis destroyers with U.S.-made Tomahawk long-range cruise missiles, calling them "descendants of militarism who are accelerating the timeline for reinvasion by fully preparing for preemptive strike capabilities."
The Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) issued a commentary on October 18, stating, "In recent years, Japan's military activities have been thoroughly oriented toward the completion of preemptive strike capabilities."
KCNA described the Tomahawk missile as an infamous weapon that the United States has actively used as a means of preemptive strike in numerous wars, and pointed out, "All these facts suggest that Japan has rapidly entered the stage of actual deployment of long-range strike assets for preemptive attacks."
KCNA further argued, "It is clear that if Japan, which has steadily built up the political, military, and legal foundations for overseas aggression, ultimately completes its warfighting capabilities through the mass acquisition and successive forward deployment of long-range strike assets, it will immediately embark on the path of preemptive strike capabilities for overseas battlefields."
KCNA stated, "The long-range weapons now under Japan's control have our Republic, as well as other countries in the region, within their operational range," and added, "Given that Japan is still obsessed with realizing its old delusions of the 'Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere,' it is all too obvious where the arrows of reinvasion will be aimed first."
KCNA concluded, "This is precisely why the reckless actions of these descendants of militarism must never be tolerated."
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