North Korea calls Japan's defense paper an 'aggression white paper'

North Korea has sharply criticized Japan's latest defense white paper, labeling it an "aggression white paper" designed to legitimize the nation's military expansion. The denunciation came in a statement released on August 11, attributed to international security affairs commentator Kang Won-chol and published by North Korean state media.

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It is an aggression white paper aiming to legalize the mobilization of its war machine.

The statement asserted that Japan, under the guise of its "defense white paper," is arbitrarily labeling North Korea and surrounding countries as "grave and pressing threats" and "the greatest strategic challenges." This, Pyongyang claims, is an attempt to rationalize its "reckless military buildup."

North Korea further accused Japan of distorting reality and pursuing militarization for over 80 years as retribution for its defeat in World War II. The statement argued that Japan's actions, rather than severing ties with its militaristic past, are a "grave and urgent threat" to the world.

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Japan is arbitrarily labeling countries around us, including our republic, as 'grave and pressing threats' and 'the greatest strategic challenges,' trying hard to rationalize its reckless military buildup.

"Even if Japan tries to cover its aggressive intentions with the silk veil of 'defense,' it can never hide its identity as a hotbed of regional peace disruption and tension escalation," the statement read. It also stressed the importance of strengthening North Korea's "overwhelming and powerful self-defensive deterrence" to protect national sovereignty and maintain regional peace and stability.

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Japan's labeling of threats from surrounding countries in the 'defense white paper' itself is a distortion of reality.

The international community, North Korea urged, must "raise its vigilance and strongly oppose and reject" Japan's "new militaristic machinations" that are "gravely undermining regional peace and security."

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Even if Japan tries to cover its aggressive intentions with the silk veil of 'defense,' it can never hide its identity as a hotbed of regional peace disruption and tension escalation.