North Korea warns Japan against deploying long-range missiles in Kyushu

“All military means and various forms of movement directly targeting the DPRK… are an object to be wiped out,” a media report said. (File photo used for representational purpose only)
| Photo Credit: AP

“North Korea warned Japan against deploying long-range missiles in the Kyushu region, saying such attack capability will “bring about constant escalation of tension” in Northeast Asia,” state media KCNA said on Thursday (March 20, 2025.)

“Tokyo was considering deploying long-range missiles on Kyushu as part of attempts to acquire “counterstrike capabilities” to hit enemy targets in the event of an emergency,” Japan’s Kyodo News reported this month, citing government sources.

North Korea dismantles facility near border for separated families

“Pyongyang accused Japan of continuing a past history of aggression through moves such as a constant strengthening of the Japan-U.S. military alliance and collusion with NATO forces,” KCNA said, citing the policy section chief of the Institute for Japan Studies under North Korea’s Foreign Ministry.

“All military means and various forms of movement directly targeting the DPRK… are an object to be wiped out,” the KCNA report said, using the abbreviation of North Korea’s official name, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK).

North Korea says it sees more U.S. ‘military provocations’ under Trump

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said last month that trilateral military cooperation among the U.S., Japan and South Korea was raising tensions in the region and vowed countermeasures, including the further development of nuclear forces.