North Korea Steps Up Attacks on Japan, Emboldened by Russia

Since the beginning of July, North Korean state media have issued more than a dozen harsh statements against Japan, accusing Tokyo of stoking "neo-militarist madness" and preparing for an "aggressive war." According to analysts interviewed by the Hong Kong-based South China Morning Post, Pyongyang's growing confidence stems from its increasingly close ties with Moscow.

The state news agency KCNA criticised memorial ceremonies for roughly 2.5 million Japanese war dead at Tokyo's Yasukuni Shrine, where convicted war criminals are also honoured. Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's gesture of sending a ritual offering to the shrine and bowing in its direction was cited by the agency as proof that Tokyo is seeking to whip up support for "renewed aggression."

The accusations of preparing for an "aggressive war" came shortly after Japan's Ministry of Defence unveiled a record defence budget of 8.9 trillion yen, or roughly 1.2 trillion Czech crowns. Pyongyang called the move "a dangerous step that brings fresh turmoil to the region and the world." Since adopting a new security strategy in 2022, Tokyo has been steadily increasing military spending and plans to raise it to around 2% of GDP by 2027, while also developing long-range strike capabilities.

Leaning on Moscow

According to South Korea's Ministry of National Defence, North Korea has supplied Russia with more than 15 million rounds of artillery ammunition. Combat experience gained by North Korean troops and Russian technical assistance are believed by some analysts to have improved the accuracy of North Korean missiles.

"This is clearly a favourable moment for North Korea — after years of isolation, it has managed to forge much closer ties with Russia," James Brown, a professor of international relations at Temple University, told the South China Morning Post.

At the same time, tensions between Moscow and Tokyo are rising: this month Russia is holding missile drills near the Kuril Islands, part of which Japan has disputed with Russia since the end of World War II. Around 15 August — the anniversary of the end of Japanese colonial rule over Korea — Vladimir Putin and Kim Jong Un exchanged messages recalling their countries' joint struggle against Japan. Days later, North Korea issued its condemnation of the Yasukuni Shrine visits.

South Korean officials warn that Pyongyang is likely preparing to send additional troops to support Russia's military operation in Ukraine. Putin is expected to visit Vladivostok from 1 September for the annual Eastern Economic Forum, which Kim Jong Un also attended in 2023. According to Andrei Lankov, professor of history and international relations at Seoul's Kookmin University, a symbolic gesture could be a meeting of the two leaders at the new road bridge over the Tumen River — another emblem of North Korea–Russia cooperation.

A Bloc Against Japan?

Pyongyang is trying to frame geopolitics in the Asia-Pacific region as a clash between two blocs, evoking the Cold War-era divide between NATO and the Warsaw Pact. North Korea is deepening its military and economic ties with Russia, Beijing's relations with Tokyo remain tense, and Japan, in response, is strengthening its defence and cooperation with the US and South Korea.

"It's important for the regime to have an 'evil enemy' to complain about, and Japan fits that need perfectly," Lankov noted. He added that a genuine trilateral alliance between Russia, China and North Korea remains unlikely, even as Pyongyang's rhetoric becomes increasingly routine.

The Unresolved Abductee Issue

This rhetoric stands in stark contrast to the fact that, as recently as late May, Japan itself was trying to bring North Korea to the negotiating table over the issue of abducted Japanese citizens. Japan officially recognises the abduction of 17 of its citizens by North Korean agents in the 1970s and 1980s. Five of them returned home in 2002 following a meeting between then-Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi and North Korean leader Kim Jong Il in Pyongyang — the first-ever summit between the two countries, which still have no formal diplomatic relations. There have been no further high-level meetings since 2004.

The case of Megumi Yokota has become a symbol of the issue. She disappeared in 1977 at the age of 13 while walking home from school. Her mother, now 90, is still fighting for her daughter's return. Back in late May, Prime Minister Takaichi called on Kim Jong Un to take a joint "bold step" for the sake of the people of both nations.

Source: seznamzpravy.cz