North Korea Threatens ‘Bold Military Steps’ Against Japan Military Buildup

 

Al Jazeera: North Korea slams Japan’s military buildup, promises action 

North Korea’s foreign ministry calls Japan’s new $320bn security strategy ‘wrong and dangerous’, promises a response. North Korea has condemned Japan’s planned military build-up and pledged action against what it described as Tokyo’s “wrong and dangerous choice” to bolster its defence sector. 

The statement on Tuesday from North Korea’s foreign ministry comes just days after Japan unveiled a new $320bn security strategy that outlined plans for Japan’s military to mount “counter-strike capabilities”, and to respond to the threats posed by China, Russia and North Korea. 

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Update #1: North Korea threatens ‘bold military steps’ against Japan (AP)  

Update #2: North Korea threatens ‘bold military steps’ against Japan after Tokyo ramps up defense spending (FOX News)  

WNU Editor: Expect more North Korean missile tests in the future.

North Korea Threatens Japan With 'Real Ballistic Missile' After Japan's PM Shinzo Abe Condemned The North For 'Repeated Launches Of Ballistic Missiles'

BBC: North Korea threatens Japan with 'real ballistic missile'

North Korea has branded Japan's PM Shinzo Abe an "imbecile" and "political dwarf", accusing him of mislabelling its latest weapons test.

Mr Abe condemned the North for "repeated launches of ballistic missiles" after two projectiles were fired on Thursday.

But the North insisted it was testing a "super-large multiple-rocket launcher".

On Saturday, state media said Japan "may see what a real ballistic missile is in the not distant future".

North Korea is banned from firing ballistic missiles under UN Security Council resolutions.

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More News On North Korea Threatening Japan With A 'Real Ballistic Missile'

North Korea warns Japan's Abe may soon see real ballistic missile launch -- Reuters
North Korea threatens to send a 'real ballistic missile' to Japan and calls Shinzo Abe 'the most stupid man in history -- Daily Mail
North Korea threatens to send 'real ballistic missile' at Japan -- ABC News Online
North Korea Threatens Ballistic Missile Test Under Japan’s ‘Nose’ -- VOA
North Korea blasts Japanese PM as 'idiot,' warns of ballistic missile launch toward Japan -- USA Today
N. Korea blasts Japan's Abe, warns of 'real ballistic missile' -- AFP
N. Korea calls Abe 'most stupid man' for mistaking projectiles from super-large launcher for ballistic missiles -- Korea Herald/Yonhap
‘He may see a REAL ballistic missile soon’: Pyongyang riducules Shinzo Abe’s poor knowledge of rockets NK fired into Sea of Japan -- RT

Japan Claims North Korea Is Developing Missiles To Penetrate Missile Defense

A missile is fired during the test of a multiple rocket launcher in this undated photo released on August 25, 2019 by North Korea's Korean Central News Agency (KCNA). KCNA via REUTERS

Reuters: Japan says North Korea developing warheads to penetrate missile defenses

TOKYO (Reuters) - Pyongyang appears to be developing warheads to penetrate a ballistic missile shield defending Japan, the country’s defense chief said on Tuesday, pointing to the irregular trajectories of the latest missiles launched by North Korea.

Defense Minister Takeshi Iwaya told a news conference Japan believes the rockets were a new short-range ballistic missile, according to a ministry spokesman who confirmed his comments carried by domestic media.

Recent short-range missile tests by Pyongyang have stoked alarm in neighboring Japan even as U.S. President Donald Trump has dismissed the launches as unimportant.

The United Nations Security Council discussed North Korea’s actions behind closed-doors on Tuesday at the request of Germany, France and Britain. The three countries condemned Pyongyang’s “repeated provocative launches” as violations of Security Council resolutions.

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Update: Tokyo: North Korea aims to 'break through' Japan's missile defense zone (UPI)

WNU Editor: Japan knows that they are a target for North Korea's missiles.

Japan Met Secretly With North Korean Officials In July

Japan Times: Japan and North Korea met secretly in Vietnam in July, irking U.S.: report

NEW YORK – Japan and North Korea held a “secret” meeting in Vietnam in July without informing the United States, the Washington Post reported Tuesday.

Shigeru Kitamura, head of Japan’s Cabinet Intelligence and Research Office, and a senior North Korean official in charge of reunification, Kim Song Hye, attended the talks, the newspaper said.

Senior U.S. officials expressed irritation that Japan was not forthright about the meeting despite Washington’s near-constant updates to Tokyo on its dealings with North Korea, it said.

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More News On Japanese Concerns Over North Korea

Japan says North Korean threat remains despite summit pledge -- Washington Post
Japan and North Korea held secret meeting in Vietnam in July and didn’t tell Trump, report claims -- SCMP
Bad blood between North Korea and Japan keeps Abe on the outs -- CNN
Japan: North Korea Still a Threat -- VOA
Tokyo Says Pyongyang 'Appears to Possess Several Hundred Nodong Missiles' -- Sputnik
Japan seeks stronger ties with US, says North Korean threat ‘imminent’ despite summit pledge -- AP

North Korea Tells Japan That There Will Be No Resolution On Abduction Issue Until Sanctions Are Lifted

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un tours a factory in Sinuiju, North Korea, in this undated photo released by the North's Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) on Monday. REUTERS

Japan Times: No resolution on abduction issue unless sanctions lifted, North Korea tells Japan

North Korea has said it will not comply with Tokyo’s request for a resolution of the issue of Japanese citizens abducted by the North decades ago unless Tokyo lifts unilateral economic sanctions, sources close to bilateral ties said Thursday.

Pyongyang’s demand to Japan was made during behind-the-scenes talks regarding the abductions of Japanese nationals in the 1970s and 1980s, and is viewed possibly as a condition for resuming investigations into the fate of the victims, the sources said.

But it remains uncertain whether Japan will heed North Korea’s call as it continues to seek comprehensive resolution of the nuclear, missile and abduction issues.

The long-stalled probe into the missing people has seen no tangible progress since 2016, when the North disbanded a special panel to reinvestigate the victims’ whereabouts in retaliation for sanctions imposed by Japan on the North due to its continued nuclear and missile tests.

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WNU Editor:  A brutal reminder on who and what North Korea is. Which makes me wonder on where this is all going .... Pompeo to land in North Korea seeking initial list of nuclear sites for declaration (Reuters).

South Korean Governent: North Korean Leader Kim Jong Un Is Willing To Hold Talks With Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe

Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe receives a petition from Shigeo Iizuka (center), who is the leader of a group of families of Japanese nationals abducted by North Korea.Toru Hanai / Reuters file

Japan Times: Kim Jong Un ready to talk with Abe at ‘any time,’ Blue House reveals after North-South summit

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un is willing to hold talks with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, South Korea’s presidential Blue House said Sunday, just days after a historic North-South summit.

Kim told South Korean President Moon Jae-in during Friday’s talks that he is ready to hold a dialogue with Japan at “any time,” the Blue House said, adding that Moon had relayed Kim’s remark to Abe in a telephone call Sunday morning.

Abe told Moon that Tokyo intends to work to hold a bilateral summit with Pyongyang, adding he hopes Moon will mediate if necessary, the Blue House said.

Moon replied that he will gladly do so, it added.

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Update #1:North Korean leader Kim Jong Un ready to talk with Japan: Seoul (The Straits Times/AFP)
Update #2: Japan frets about Trump's looming talks with North Korea (NBC News)

WNU Editor: Japanese concerns that they will be left out are not justified .... Moon ramps up cooperation with US, Japanese leaders in inter-Korean summit follow up (Korea Herald)

Japan And China Respond To Today's Korean Summit

China welcomed what it called "an important consensus" between the two Koreas

The Korea Herald/Yonhap: Japan, China welcome inter-Korean summit agreement

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Friday welcomed a surprise set of inter-Korean summit agreements to build peace and denuclearize the Korean Peninsula but urged the North to prove its commitment with action.

"I welcome and take them as positive moves," the prime minister said in a press conference televised live following the summit between President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.

"I want to praise the South Korean government's efforts that led to the latest summit."

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Update #1: Japan's Abe hails Korea summit, seeks 'concrete action' (AFP)
Update #2: China hails 'courage' of North, South Korean leaders (AFP)

WNU Editor:  The Asian giants are making their opinion known on what is happening on the Korean peninsula.

Report: Japan Wants A Summit With North Korea

Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe speaks at a news conference at his official residence in Tokyo, Japan, August 3, 2016. Kim Kyung-Hoon/Reuters

Business Insider/Reuters: Japan has reportedly reached out to North Korea for a summit meeting

* Japan has reportedly reached out to North Korea for a summit meeting.
* Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is believed to have wanted to discuss the issue of Japanese citizens abducted by North Korean agents decades ago.
* North Korea hopes to get $20 billion to $50 billion in aid from Japan if it normalizes relations, according to one report.

Japan has sounded out the North Korean government about a bilateral summit, and Pyongyang has discussed the possibility of a leaders' meeting with Japan, Japan's Asahi newspaper said on Thursday.

The government of Kim Jong Un has informed leaders of North Korea's ruling Korean Workers Party of the possibility of a summit with Japan, the newspaper said, citing an unidentified North Korean source and briefing papers.

"The Japanese government has expressed a wish to host a leaders meeting, via the General Association of Korean Residents in Japan," or Chongryong, Pyongyang's de facto embassy in Japan, the Asahi quoted the briefing papers as saying.

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WNU Editor: If such a summit should occur, it will be in June .... N. Korea's elite told a summit with Japan could come in June (Asahi Shimbun). As for a Trump-Abe meeting, early indications that it will be in Florida on April 18 .... Japan PM Abe likely to visit US for talks with Trump on April 17-19 (The Mainichi). More here .... Abe likely to meet Trump on April 18 in Florida: source (Asia Times).

More News On Reports That Japan Wants A Summit With North Korea

Trump-Kim meeting may leave out Japan. Shinzo Abe is taking action -- CNBC
After Kim-Xi meeting, Abe eager to advance Japan's interests -- Deutsche Welle
Japan Opens Talks With North Korea -- Wall Street Journal
Japan-North Korea summit may be held in June — newspaper -- TASS

Japan Is Talking To North Korea

Asia Times: Japan in diplomatic contact with North Korea through Beijing embassy

Is Tokyo warming to Pyongyang?

The Japanese government has disclosed that it’s been “exchanging views” with North Korea ahead of planned summits between North Korea, the US and South Korea, according to UPI.

The development is viewed as a sign that Tokyo, which has expressed skepticism about Pyongyang’s intentions in improving diplomatic ties, is also interested in detente with North Korea.

“In a rare admission regarding Tokyo’s engagement with Pyongyang, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said Japan has been in “various ways, exchanging views with North Korea,” UPI said, picking up a report from South Korea’s Yonhap news agency on Thursday.

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WNU Editor: There are two reasons for Japan's outreach. (1) Wanting to know the fate of Japanese citizens that were kidnapped by the North Koreans years ago. (2) Leaving a door open for detente.

A Japan - North Korea Summit?

Earlier this week, South Korean envoy Suh Hoon visited Tokyo to brief Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on the fast-moving diplomatic process that saw an announcement of a historic US-North Korea summit to discuss Pyongyang's denuclearisation.

Japan Times: Japan to explore possibility of summit between Abe and Kim Jong Un, sources say

The government plans to explore the possibility of a summit between Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un as it considers adopting a new way of dealing with Pyongyang, government sources said Tuesday.

The decision came after Abe and other officials were briefed by Suh Hoon, one of the South Korean envoys who spoke with Kim in breakthrough talks in Pyongyang last week.

While the Abe administration has long advocated a cautious stance in holding dialogue with North Korea, it now anticipates there is a fresh chance to make progress toward resolving the issue of North Korea’s abductions of Japanese nationals in the 1970s and 1980s, the sources said.

“If we’re to resolve the abduction issue, direct dialogue with the top — Mr. Kim Jong Un — is essential,” a source at Abe’s office said.

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Update #1: Japan's Abe weighing talks with North Korea's Kim: reports (AFP)
Update #2: Japan considers seeking summit between PM Abe and North Korea leader - source (Channel News Asia/Reuters)

WNU Editor: The Japanese are not the priority for the North Koreans right now.

Japan Is Stunned By President Trump's Announcement That He Will Enter Into Talks With North Korea

U.S. President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Shinzo Abe hold a joint news conference in Tokyo in November 2017. (Asahi Shimbun file photo)

The Asahi Shimbun: Japan shocked to be left out in cold by Trump on North Korea

The U.S. president trumpeted during a March 9 phone call with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe that he had "good news."

It was anything but.

The U.S. leader's announcement of a planned historic summit meeting by the end of May with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un caught Japan off-guard and dismayed as Tokyo had stood shoulder-to-shoulder with Washington on maintaining maximum pressure on Pyongyang to rein in its military provocations.

"It never occurred to us that such a decision would be made at this time," said a high-ranking Foreign Ministry official, describing the shockwaves reverberating in Tokyo.

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Update #1: Trump-Kim summit fans Japan fears of being sidelined on North Korea (Reuters)
Update #2: Japan fears being left out in cold as US-North Korea ties thaw (The Telegraph)

WNU Editor: The Japanese hate surprises .... even though President Trump has a different take .... Trump says Japan ‘very happy’ with North Korea talks that could bring ‘greatest deal’ (Japan Times). Japan's response so far has been only this .... Japan pledges to pay '£2m for nuclear inspections in North Korea in bid to help end its atomic programme' (The Independent), but I expect more tangible input from Japan when Japanese PM Abe meets President trump next month to discuss the North Korean issue.

Could North Korea Easily Launch A Nuclear Attack Against Tokyo?

Reuters

Kyle Mizokami, National Interest: North Korea Could Easily Nuke Tokyo (the Largest Urban Area on the Planet)

Tokyo has a population of 13.491 million, making it by far the largest city in Japan and home to more than 10 percent of the nation’s population. The greater Tokyo area, home to thirty-seven million, is the largest urban area on the planet. It is also squarely in the cross-hairs of North Korea’s nuclear weapons. In the event of nuclear attack, Tokyo could experience enormous destruction the likes of which it hasn’t experienced since World War II.

Tokyo became the capital of modern Japan in the late nineteenth century, during the Meiji Restoration, part of a broad effort to modernize the country and raise the Japan’s government, science, technology and military to Western levels. Unfortunately, imperialism was one of those imported values, and the country ruled the Korean Peninsula from 1910 to 1945. The occupation and guerrilla war conducted by Korean partisans established a deep antagonism against Japan that persists to this day. The North Korean leadership claims legitimacy in part from the partisan activities conducted by founding members of the state. Japan’s later alliance with the United States and South Korea only exacerbated bad feelings against the country in Pyongyang.

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WNU Editor: The above article makes the assumption that North Korea has the capability of fitting a 20 kiloton nuclear device on a medium range missile. And yes .... if North Korea could fit such a nuclear device on a medium range missile, the impact would be enormous if a strike is launched on Tokyo.

Japan Says It Won't Fall For North Korean 'Charm Offensive'

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe of Japan, President Moon Jae-in of South Korea and U.S. Vice President Mike Pence meet in Pyeongchang, South Korea, site of the 2018 Winter Games.

SCMP: Japan confident US is still holding firm on North Korea despite Vice-President Pence’s dialogue offer

The Japanese government has repeatedly said no dialogue should be held with Pyongyang until it agrees to make changes to its policies on nuclear weapon and missile development

Senior Japanese officials said on Tuesday Japan and the United States continue to share the same stance on North Korea even after US Vice-President Mike Pence expressed readiness to talk with Pyongyang without preconditions in a newspaper interview.

The Washington Post quoted Pence on Monday as saying on his way home from the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics in South Korea that while the United States will continue to maximise diplomatic and economic pressure on North Korea, if you want to talk, we’ll talk.

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More News On Japan Saying It Won't Fall For North Korean 'Charm Offensive'

Don't be 'blinded' by N. Korea charm offensive: Japan -- AFP
Japan unconvinced by North Korea's overtures -- Straits Times
Japan says it won't fall for North Korean 'charm offensive' amid detente with US and South -- The Japan Times
Japan warns of being 'blinded' by North Korea charm offensive -- SBS
Asean must keep pressing North Korea, says Japan minister -- Straits Times
Japan Warns Not to Be Bewitched by N Korean Charm as US Contemplates Talks -- Sputnik

Japan Public Broadcaster Issues False North Korean Missile Alert

Reuters: Days after Hawaii alert gaffe, Japan issues false alarm about a missile launch

TOKYO (Reuters) - Japanese public broadcaster NHK issued a false alarm about a North Korean missile launch on Tuesday, just days after a similar gaffe caused panic in Hawaii, but it managed to correct the error within minutes.

It was not immediately clear what triggered the mistake.

"We are still checking," an NHK spokesman said.

NHK's 6.55 p.m. alert said: "North Korea appears to have launched a missile ... The government urges people to take shelter inside buildings or underground."

The same alert was sent to mobile phone users of NHK's online news distribution service.

In five minutes, the broadcaster put out another message correcting itself.

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WNU Editor: Another false missile alert?!?!?!

More News On Japan's Public Broadcaster Issues False North Korean Missile Alert

Japan issues false alarm over missile launch, days after Hawaii alert gaffe -- Reuters
Just days after Hawaii incident, Japan issues false missile alert -- The Hill
Japan Broadcaster Joins Hawaii in Issuing False Missile Alert -- Bloomberg
Japan sounds false alarm over North Korean missile -- News.com.au
Japan public TV sends false North Korean missile alert -- DW
North Korea Missile Launch? False Alarm Set Off By Japanese Broadcaster -- International Business Times

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe Says North Korea Poses Biggest Threat Since World War II

Reuters: Japan faces greatest danger since World War due to North Korea: PM

TOKYO (Reuters) - The security situation facing Japan is the most perilous since World War Two because of North Korea’s “unacceptable” provocations, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said on Thursday and he vowed to bolster defenses to protect the Japanese people.

Tension in the region has been rising, particularly since North Korea conducted its sixth and largest nuclear test in September, and then in November, said it had successfully tested a new intercontinental ballistic missile that could reach all of the U.S. mainland.

“It is not an exaggeration to say that the security environment surrounding Japan is at its severest since World War Two. I will protect the people’s lives and peaceful living in any situation,” Abe told a New Year news conference.

Abe said Japan would take new steps to strengthen its defense posture but he did not go to specifics.

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WNU Editor: Japanese PM Abe is right, but the North Korean regime has a different agenda .... North Koreans “Could Make Their Country Richer” by Seeking Peace, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe Says (Newsweek)

More News On Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe Saying That North Korea Poses The Biggest Threat Since World War II

PM Abe says nuclear North Korea greatest threat to Japan since WWII -- CNN
Japan Says North Korea Poses Biggest Threat Since World War II -- Newsweek
Japan PM says country faces greatest threat since World War II due to North Korea’s nuclear agenda -- Scroll.in
North Korea Threat 'Severest Since WWII', Says Japan's Shinzo Abe -- International Business Times

Japan To Purchase Air-Launched Missiles That Will Be Able To Strike North Korea

Daily Mail/AFP: Japan will purchase long-range missiles deployed on fighter jets to counter North Korea threat after decades of pacifism, defence minister reveals

* Japan plans to purchase offensive air-to-surface missiles in 2018
* Cruise missiles will have range of 560 miles and be deployed on fighter jets
* The government has made the more in response to threat of North Korea

Japan is set to purchase offensive air-to-surface missiles to counter North Korea's rising military threat, going against its own constitution, which dictates use of force in self-defence only.

Defence secretary Itsunori Onodera said the ministry intends to request a special budget for the fiscal year starting April 2018 to purchase long-range cruise missiles deployed on fighter jets.

The ministry reportedly plans to buy 560mile-range air-to-ground missiles from US firms, as well as Joint Strike Missiles with a range of some 310miles from Norway.

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WNU Editor: This is Japan's military wish-list against North Korea .... Revealed: Japan's Military Wish List to Wage a War Against North Korea (Kyle Mizokami, National Interest).

More News On Japan Preparing To Purchase Air-Launched Missiles That Will Be Able To Strike North Korea

Japan to acquire air-launched missiles able to strike North Korea -- Reuters
Japan seeks longer-range cruise missiles amid North Korea threat -- BBC
Japan to buy long-range missiles for first time -- CNN
Japan Missile Plans Put North Korean Bases Within Range -- Wall Street Journal
North Korea: Japan to buy long-range missiles for first time due to 'increasingly severe' national security fears -- The Independent
Japan to buy cruise missiles capable of striking North Korea -- Financial Times
Japan Announces Plan to Equip Fighter Jets With Longer-Range Missiles -- Sputnik

What Is The Japanese Military Role When It Comes To North Korea

Yahoo News: Japanese defense in the age of North Korean missile successes

The United States and South Korea began large-scale air-defense exercises on Monday, ignoring pleas from Russia and China to call off the annual military exercises in hopes that, in exchange, North Korea would slow its weapons programs. The decision signaled that the U.S. and its regional allies, including South Korea and Japan, are losing faith in the prospects for negotiations with the regime in Pyongyang.

“People may ask why we do not engage with North Korea. We have been engaging with North Korea for more than 20 years,” a Japanese government official told Yahoo News at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs headquarters in Kasumigaseki, Tokyo. “Our sincere will for dialogue with North Korea was betrayed, simply put.”

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Update: Here is a clear sign on how Japan is changing its defense posture .... Japan Wants Long-Range Missiles That Could Reach North Korea, Report Says (Newsweek).

WNU Editor: Here is a good read on what is the Japanese military's role when it comes to North Korea .... When it comes to North Korea, what is Japan's military role? (Thomas Maresca, Special to USA TODAY).

Millions In Tokyo To Participate In A Drill Simulating A North Korean Nuclear Attack

Seiichiro Nishimoto, CEO of Shelter Co., poses wearing a gas mask at a model room for the company's nuclear shelters in the basement of his house in Osaka Credit: Reuters

The Telegraph: Millions in Tokyo to take part in North Korean nuclear attack exercise

Millions of residents of Tokyo are to take part in evacuation drills simulating a North Korean nuclear attack on the Japanese capital.

The national and city governments are to carry out a series of exercises between January and March to prepare for a potential attack on Tokyo, the Sankei Shimbun newspaper reported, the first time that a major Japanese city will have carried out responses to a simulated attack.

Towns facing the Korean Peninsula have in recent months conducted similar drills, with residents instructed to seek shelter in response to sirens warning of an imminent missile strike.

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Update: Millions of Japanese will take part in evacuation drills in Tokyo as the country simulates a nuclear attack (Daily Mail)

WNU Editor: Welcome to the new normal.

Is Japan Capable Of Launching Military Operations Against North Korea?

This undated picture released from North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) on June 23, 2016 shows a test launch of the surface-to-surface medium long-range strategic ballistic missile Hwasong-10 at an undisclosed location in North Korea. KCNA

Kyle Mizokami, National Interest: What Would Japan Do if They Discovered North Korea Was About to Start a Nuclear War?

While a preemptive-strike capability for Japan isn’t impossible, it is more difficult than many observers realize. Building the force necessary for prosecuting an air campaign would certainly necessitate busting the 1 percent GDP cap on defense spending that Japan currently has in place, but like the prohibition on “offensive” weapons, that too is a policy matter that can be reversed. Another, less lethal national security concern is Japan’s debt problem, which is currently north of 200 percent GDP. Whatever path Japan decides to take won’t be easy.

It’s Japan’s ultimate nightmare: a RQ-4 Global Hawk belonging to Japan’s Air Self-Defense Force (JASDF) is watching a North Korean medium-range ballistic missile being readied for launch. The missile is being fueled, a process that can take hours. The incident follows days of incendiary North Korean rhetoric about Japan disappearing in a “wall of nuclear flames.” Reluctantly, Japan’s prime minister approves a preemptive strike designed to destroy the missile before it is ready for launch.

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WNU Editor: It appears that Japanese public opinion is becoming more "hard-core" against North Korea .... Japan Wants War With North Korea's Kim Jong Un, Not Dialogue, New Poll Shows (Newsweek).

Japan Warns South Korea And The U.S. That The North Korean Nuclear Crisis Is Now Critical

VOA: Japan: North Korea Nuclear Threat 'Critical'

The nuclear threat from North Korea is critical and requires a joint response from the United States, Japan, and South Korea, Japan's defense minister said Monday.

"[The] threat posed by North Korea has grown to the unprecedented, critical and imminent level. Therefore, we have to take calibrated and different responses to meet with that level of threat," Japanese Defense Minister Itsunori Onodera told his U.S. and South Korean counterparts, speaking through a translator, at the start of talks in the Philippines.

U.S. Defense Secretary James Mattis was more reserved in his remarks, but did slam North Korea for defying U.N. Security Council resolutions against its nuclear and ballistic missile programs.

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More News On South Korea Warning That The North Korean Nuclear Crisis Is Now Critical

Japan PM Shinzo Abe promises to handle North Korea threat -- BBC
North Korea: Japan warns of 'unprecedented, critical and imminent' nuclear threat -- ABC News Online
North Korea threat is 'critical, imminent,' Japan tells U.S., South Korea -- Reuters
North Korea's nuclear threat now at 'critical and imminent level', says Japan -- The Independent
Japan PM Shinzo Abe pledges pressure on North Korea after big election win -- DW
Abe: Japan to pursue 'strong diplomacy' against N Korea -- Al Jazeera
Japanese defense minister sounds alarm on North Korea. -- AP