As Japan has been pushing boosting national defense capabilities, including seeking to acquire a "counterstrike capability," North Korea criticized it, saying it would "only result in putting the archipelago within the joint target of strong punishment by neighboring countries."
The North's ruling party newspaper Rodong Sinmun on the 27th carried an article titled "The hideous figure of a war state revealed barefaced." It included news such as the recent launch of Japan's sixth 3,000-ton "Taigei"-class submarine and the announcement that it has begun mass production of an improved Type 12 surface-to-ship missile with extended range.
The newspaper said these weapons systems are "all preemptive strike means aimed at other countries and regions beyond the borders of the archipelago," and argued, "It is extremely dangerous that Japan, a war-criminal nation, has openly made preemptive attacks on other countries' territories a policy and is accelerating the development and introduction of those means."
It went on to criticize, saying, "Japan is precisely the culprit that has exaggerated neighboring countries' self-defensive measures as a 'threat,' complicating the regional situation and escalating it step by step," and that, shedding the guise of a "peaceful nation," it "is revealing the hideous figure of a war state even more brazenly."
Japan is pursuing maintenance and deployment of long-range missiles, equipment related to a "counterstrike capability" capable of attacking enemy missile bases, and possession of next-generation, power-driven submarines that can carry long-range missiles and travel and submerge over long distances and periods. It is also moving to hasten missile development, showing a push to shift to a "state capable of waging war."
It cites the advancement of North Korea's nuclear and missile capabilities and China's military buildup as the reasons. North Korea has consistently condemned these moves by Japan.