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North slams Japan's reported move to deploy upgraded anti-ship missiles in Kumamoto

Published: 04 Aug. 2025, 09:30

This Kyodo News file photo shows a Type-12 long-range anti-ship missile revealed for the first time during an annual live-fire drill in Shizuoka prefecture on June 8. [YONHAP]

North Korea on Monday lambasted Japan over a reported move to deploy upgraded surface-to-ship missiles in western coastal Kumamoto Prefecture near China as Tokyo continued to strengthen its defense posture.

The Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) issued the criticism following a recent Japanese news report that the country's Defense Ministry is finalizing a plan to deploy locally produced Type-12 anti-ship missiles at Camp Kengun in Kumamoto during the current fiscal year that runs through March 31.

The missile has a range of 1,000 kilometers (621 miles) and is capable of reaching China's coastline. The planned deployment is intended as a deterrence to China, and the ministry is also considering deploying the missiles in Okinawa Prefecture, the report said.

The KCNA claimed the deployment is intended to secure Japan's pre-emptive strike capabilities, aimed at realizing its ambition for the imperial-era "Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere," rather than deterring any specific threat.

"Through military buildup and reorganization, as well as schemes for force modernization, Japan is approaching a situation where it can put an invasion war into action," the KCNA said, citing the 2022 revision of its National Security Strategy and the March launch of the Joint Operations Command.

The KCNA described Japan as "prepossessed with becoming a military power," accusing the country of racing toward a day of reinvasion by deploying long-range missiles intended for pre-emptive strikes.

"The day of reinvasion that Japan is now so desperately seeking will be the day it steps into an irrecoverable hell," the KCNA warned.

Yonhap