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Kim Yo Jong, the sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, warned Wednesday that North Korea will pursue “additional military options” after Japan test-fired an American-made Tomahawk cruise missile for the first time.
Getting into it: The statement, carried by state media KCNA, accused Japan of abandoning a defensive posture and turning its forces into something capable of preemptive attacks and overseas operations. Kim pointed to the July 29 Tomahawk launch from the Aegis destroyer JS Chokai in the Pacific, other missile tests, and Japan’s participation in US-led drills in the Philippines in May.
She wrote, “War criminal state Japan’s possession of the capability for pre-emptive attack is a grave threat destroying global peace and security.” Kim said the North would make Japan “feel that its security has been exposed to greater danger due to its greediness,” adding, “We should make it regret.”
She also invoked the colonial history, saying that “if the descendants of militarism, who have inherited the genes of cunning and aggression, have seized deadly weapons in their hands, something unpleasant will happen.” Japan occupied all of Korea until its 1945 surrender, after which the peninsula was split at the 38th parallel.
Kim also accused the US of enabling the buildup by supplying the missiles, modifying vessels to fire them, and supporting the tests. “The U.S. is behind such dangerous military moves of Japan,” she said.
The warning comes as Japan continues to move away from its postwar pacifist posture. Under a national security strategy adopted in 2022, Japan raised military spending 9.7% to $62.2 billion in 2025, the highest share of GDP since 1958. Japan has also ordered 400 Tomahawks from the US for delivery by March 2028.
