N. Korea slams Japan's Yasukuni shrine visits as 'neo-militarist frenzy'
Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, left, walks past Emperor Naruhito, center, and Empress Masako, right, before delivering a speech during the National Memorial Ceremony for the War Dead in Tokyo, Japan, Aug. 15, marking the 81st anniversary of the end of World War II. EPA-Yonhap
North Korea on Monday slammed Japanese politicians for visiting the controversial Yasukuni Shrine and sending ritual offerings, criticizing the move as "neo-militarist frenzy."
The North issued the criticism in a commentary carried by the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), accusing them of harboring militaristic ambitions by paying respects at the shrine on Aug. 15, the anniversary of Japan's 1945 surrender in World War II.
The Yasukuni Shrine honors some 2.46 million Japanese war dead, including 14 Class A criminals convicted by international tribunals for their roles in World War II.
This year's visit carried even graver meaning, the KCNA said, coming alongside what it called Japan's "dangerous military moves that were unseen in past governments."
It cited Japan's operational deployment of preemptive-strike weapons, revisions to its defense industry laws and attempts to revise nuclear-related legislation as evidence.
Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's "surprise remote worship" revealed her "scheme to heighten the reinvasion mood" across the country and her efforts to "realize her long-cherished desire for overseas expansion," it said.
"A neo-militarist frenzy whipped by Japan on the occasion of its defeat will bring a storm of destruction to the island nation," the KCNA said.
The commentary was Pyongyang's latest denunciation of Tokyo amid a recent uptick in North Korea's criticism of what it describes as Japan's accelerating military buildup and efforts to revive its militaristic past.