its military posture in the Pacific. Japan has been steadily moving away from its post-World War II pacifism by increasing military spending, expanding defense pacts, and deploying missile launchers to its outer islands. The criticism came as Japan's defense minister said the military needed a "sense of urgency and crisis" amid a new government assessment warning of growing threats from China, Russia, and North Korea. In a statement carried by state media, Kim Yo Jong said Pyongyang's "leadership will set up additional military options which are obviously due to Japan's transformation".

Kim cited Japan's test-firing of Tomahawk long-range cruise missiles and its May participation in US-led drills in the Philippines as evidence of Washington supporting "dangerous military moves" in the Pacific. She warned that Japan is moving "to formulate the possession of the capability for preemptive attack", adding, "We will never remain a passive onlooker to the military evolution of Japan which may pose a grave threat." The statement referenced Japan's colonial occupation of all of Korea before its 1945 surrender, which divided the peninsula along the 38th parallel - a legacy that still weighs on both Koreas' foreign policies. Kim warned that "if the descendants of militarism... have seized deadly weapons in their hands, something unpleasant will happen". Japan has hosted US military bases since World War II and raised its 2025 military spending by 9.7 percent to $62.2 billion - 1.4 percent of GDP, its highest share since 1958. China, a key North Korean ally, has also expressed alarm at what it calls Japan's "new militarism". Relations have worsened since hawkish Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi suggested in November that Chinese action to seize Taiwan could merit a Japanese military response. Pyongyang has repeatedly declared itself an "irreversible" nuclear state since Kim Jong Un's 2019 summit with President Trump collapsed over denuclearisation and sanctions relief. (Bssnews)