Kim Jong Un’s Sister Accused Japan of "Militarization" and Threatened to Increase the DPRK’s Military Size

North Korea protested Japan over its Self-Defense Forces' recent test of a Tomahawk cruise missile with a long-range reach and will continue to build up its military capability in response to Tokyo's plans to strengthen its army.

This is described in a statement by Kim Yo-jong, the influential sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, published by the North Korean state news agency KCNA.

“Japan is accelerating its transformation into a war country, taking advantage of the sharp and volatile trend in the current international situation, in which global geopolitical conflicts and bloc competition are becoming fiercer,” Kim said.

In her view, the Japanese government's plans to strengthen the National Security Forces by creating the capacity for preventive strike (in case of obvious military threat from another country – editor's note) threaten North Korea and require Pyongyang to further bolster its military potential.

“We will never remain passive observers of Japan's military evolution, which could pose a serious threat to the security of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea. I am authorized to state that the armed forces of the DPRK and the military leadership will create additional military capabilities that are evidently connected with Japan's current transformation,” the North Korean dictator’s sister said.

She traditionally accused the United States of backing Tokyo's “militarist” efforts and encroaching on the security interests of Asia-Pacific region, using Japan and South Korea for this purpose.

“We should not forget that behind Japan's dangerous steps stand the United States… The U.S. threatens Russia’s strategic space in Europe, destabilizes peace and security in the Middle East, and encroaches on the security interests of sovereign nations, allowing Japan and the Republic of Korea to be attack brigades in the Asia-Pacific region,” Kim added.

Earlier media reports said that 30 in July Japan conducted, for the first time, a test launch of a Tomahawk cruise missile from its destroyer JS Chokai, equipped with the U.S. Navy’s Aegis combat system and radar missile defense system, which detects and destroys enemy aircraft and missiles.

As BAGNET reported, the Japanese government intends to increase the country's military potential due to threats from China, the Russian Federation, and North Korea.