N. Korea accuses Japan of building war capability, warns of 'enormous misfortune'
Summary
North Korea on Tuesday accused Japan of building up actual war capabilities against Pyongyang and said Japan’s participation in multilateral drills with the United States is part of that effort. The accusation came in a KCNA article by analyst Kang Won-chol. The piece singled out the U.S. Typhon missile system in Japan and linked the warning to the Freedom Edge and Orient Shield exercises. Kang warned that Japan’s attempt to turn the archipelago into an unsinkable aircraft carrier would bring enormous misfortune.
Key Facts
- The KCNA article said Japan has focused on deploying long-range strike means in recent years while spending huge amounts on military expenditure.
- It claimed Japan is using bilateral and multilateral joint military exercises with the United States and its allies to round off its real war capabilities against the DPRK and neighboring countries.
- The criticism came one day after North Korea’s defense minister condemned the ongoing Freedom Edge exercise involving South Korea, the United States and Japan, which began Monday, and the Orient Shield drills involving the United States, Japan and Australia, which started Tuesday.
A soldier takes part in a joint military exercise with the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force, and the U.S. and Australian Armies at Sekiyama Training Area in Niigata prefecture, Japan, Sept. 19, 2025. AP-Yonhap
North Korea on Tuesday accused Japan of trying to build up "actual war capabilities" against Pyongyang, insisting its participation in a series of multilateral joint military exercises involving the United States is an attempt to secure such capabilities.
The accusation came in an article by Kang Won-chol, an international security affairs analyst, carried by the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).
The article especially took issue with the deployment of the U.S. Typhon missile system in Japan.
"Japan, which has focused on deploying long-range strike means in recent years by lavishing a huge amount of money as military expenditure, resorts to bilateral and multilateral joint military exercises with the U.S. and its vassal forces more eagerly than ever," it said.
"This is a manifestation of their sinister scheme to round off its real war capabilities against the DPRK and other neighboring countries." DPRK stands for the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, the North's official name.
The article came one day after Pyongyang's defense minister issued a statement condemning the ongoing Freedom Edge exercise involving South Korea, the U.S. and Japan, which began Monday, and the Orient Shield joint drills involving the U.S., Japan and Australia, which kicked off Tuesday.
Asserting that the drill codenamed Orient Shield is aimed at "strengthening solidarity for coping with various threats in East Asia," Japan has openly pursued military confrontation with other regional countries, the North Korean analyst claimed.
"All the facts prove once again that the only prescription for controlling the descendants of militarism who inherited the genes of aggression is to have overwhelming and unparalleled war deterrent," Kang added. "The attempt of the neo-militarists of Japan to turn the whole archipelago into an 'unsinkable aircraft carrier' will inevitably bring about enormous misfortune."
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