Kim Yo-jong, Director General of the Labor Party and sister of Kim Jong-un, chairman of North Korea's State Affairs Commission, strongly criticized Japan's long-range cruise missile test launch and military buildup, warning that it would "set additional military options."
Korean Central News Agency reported that the Director General issued a statement on the 5th titled "The war-criminal state Japan's possession of preemptive strike capabilities is a grave threat that destroys international peace and stability."
The Director General, citing the recent test launch of the U.S.-made Tomahawk long-range cruise missile by Japan's Maritime Self-Defense Force and participation in U.S.-led joint drills in the Philippines, argued that "Japan's possession of preemptive strike capabilities has entered the stage of concrete action."
She went on to criticize that Japan is deploying ground-to-ship guided missiles, glide bombs, and missiles with the Self-Defense Forces, "reorganizing its force structure into a preemptive strike type, overseas aggression type." She also argued that Japan's long-standing promotion of a "peace-loving country" image in the international community was meant to conceal its intention to become a military power.
The Director General also blamed the United States as being behind Japan's military buildup. She noted that the United States supported the Tomahawk test launch and, by putting Japan and Korea at the forefront, is threatening the security of countries including North Korea in the Asia-Pacific.
She added, "We will never sit by and watch Japan's military evolution process," and said, "The armed forces and military leadership of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea will set additional, clear military options in response to Japan's transformation today."
The statement came right after Japan conducted the first test launch of Tomahawk cruise missiles it recently imported from the United States. According to Japan's Defense Ministry, the Maritime Self-Defense Force Aegis destroyer Chokai conducted a Tomahawk test launch in the Pacific on the 28th of last month (local time) with support from the U.S. Navy.
The Tomahawk is a long-range, precision-strike cruise missile with a range of about 1,600–2,500 kilometers. Japan plans to procure 400 Tomahawks between 2025 and 2027 through a Foreign Military Sales (FMS) contract with the United States.