North Korea calls Seoul-Tokyo military cooperation ‘self-destruction’
North Korea on Thursday condemned growing military cooperation between South Korea and Japan. In this June 28 photo, Japanese Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi and South Korean Defense Minister Ahn Gyu-Back inspect honor guards at the Defense Ministry in Seoul. File Pool Photo by Kim Hong-ji/EPA
July 9 (UPI) — North Korea on Thursday condemned expanding military cooperation between South Korea and Japan as a “foolish act courting self-destruction.”
The criticism came in a commentary by Kang Chol Su, section chief at North Korea’s Institute of Enemy State Studies, carried by the state-run Korean Central News Agency.
“The military nexus between Japan, a war criminal state dashing toward a military giant, and the ROK has recently got more undisguised, further endangering the security situation in the Korean peninsula,” Kang said, using the official acronym for South Korea.
He cited examples including a South Korean air force squadron refueling at a Japanese military base earlier this year, as well as a joint search-and-rescue drill held last month and recent defense ministerial talks between Seoul and Tokyo.
According to Kang, the deepening security ties are aimed at concluding a military logistics agreement that would facilitate the exchange of supplies and services between the two militaries, potentially including ammunition.
“What should not be overlooked is that the security cooperation between Japan and the ROK is directed to concluding the ‘logistic support agreement’ which provides each other with munitions including ammunition in contingency,” Kang said.
Japan has long sought such an agreement with South Korea, but Seoul has proceeded cautiously because of domestic sensitivities stemming from Japan’s 1910-45 colonial rule of the Korean Peninsula.
North Korea has repeatedly criticized the administration of Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, a hawkish conservative who took office in February, over efforts to strengthen Japan’s military and expand its regional security role.
In February, North Korean newspaper Rodong Sinmun described Japan as a “war criminal nation” and warned that Tokyo’s expanding military partnerships amounted to the formation of a “de facto military alliance” with NATO members and regional countries.
Last week, Pyongyang condemned the Resolute Dragon exercise between Japan’s Ground Self-Defense Force and the U.S. Marines as a rehearsal for war, accusing Tokyo of using the drills to strengthen its offensive military capabilities.
Kang said Japan’s growing security collaboration with South Korea and the United States was part of a broader effort to build a “triangular cooperation system” around North Korea’s nuclear issue, which he claimed was intended to militarily contain neighboring countries.
“The reality goes to prove once again that the DPRK’s continuous development of nuclear force and thorough exercise of its position as a nuclear weapons state are the only way to actively cope with the acute and unpredictably changing international situation,” Kang said, using the official acronym for North Korea.
The commentary followed a trilateral meeting Tuesday among the top diplomats of the United States, South Korea and Japan on the sidelines of the NATO summit in Ankara, Turkey, where they reaffirmed their commitment to the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.