North Korea warns Japan over plans to deploy long-range missiles

According to Reuters, the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported on March 20 that Pyongyang warned Tokyo about its plan to deploy long-range missiles in the Kyushu region by March 2026, saying that this step would escalate tensions in Northeast Asia.

Kyodo earlier this month, citing a Japanese government source, revealed that Tokyo is considering deploying long-range missiles in Kyushu as part of efforts to possess a “reaction capability” to attack enemy targets in an emergency.

KCNA quoted the head of the policy department of the Institute for Japanese Studies under the North Korean Foreign Ministry as saying that Pyongyang accused Tokyo of continuing its past history of aggression through moves such as continuously strengthening the Japan-US military alliance and colluding with forces of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).

“All military means and various forms of activities directly targeting the DPRK... are objects of destruction,” the KCNA report said.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un last month criticized the trilateral military cooperation between the United States, Japan and South Korea for increasing tensions in the region and vowed to take countermeasures, including continuing to develop nuclear forces.

Earlier, Kyodo news agency reported that Japan plans to deploy long-range missiles on Kyushu island "to strengthen defense capabilities" - aiming to strengthen security for the Nansei island chain in the southwest of the country.

Tokyo is considering deploying the missiles at the Ground Self-Defense Force's surface-to-ship missile regiments in Yufu or Kumamoto cities in Oita Prefecture.

However, the Japanese government may face criticism from local authorities and residents, who fear that missile deployment areas could become targets of enemies in the event of an armed conflict.

At the same time, these missiles are unlikely to be deployed in Okinawa Prefecture - which is closer to mainland China, to avoid increasing tensions with Beijing.

Japan is upgrading its Type 12 land-based anti-ship guided missile to enhance its counterattack capabilities as part of a program to develop long-range missiles that can strike enemies from beyond their range.