North Korea criticized Japanese political figures for dedicating ritual offerings and paying group visits to the Yasukuni Shrine, saying, "These reckless acts are instead further heightening the awakening of neighboring countries."
The Labor Party organ Rodong Sinmun, in an article on page 6 on the 21st titled "The persistent worship gambit is a blatant expression of ambitions for reinvasion," said Japanese politicians "once again gathered in a crowd and staged a worship scene," adding that "government authorities also staged a ritual of dedicating offerings."
Japanese Prime Minister Ishiba Shigeru recently dedicated ritual offerings in the name of the prime minister during the Yasukuni Shrine's autumn grand festival (religious rite). Lawmakers belonging to the group "Lawmakers' association for visiting the Yasukuni Shrine together" paid a group visit.
Rodong Sinmun raised its voice, saying, "To worship and praise Class-A war criminals who were indicted and executed for war crimes at the International Military Tribunal for the Far East is an open challenge to and violation of international justice."
Regarding Japan's rearmament moves, it said, "The persistent worship gambit by Japanese politicians toward the ghosts of militarism is not merely nostalgia for the past but an expression of ambitions for reinvasion to inevitably revive it before long."