North Korea able to hit Japan with nuclear weapons, white paper warns | NK News

North Korea able to hit Japan with nuclear weapons, white paper warns | NK News

North Korea able to hit Japan with nuclear weapons, white paper warns

Tokyo defense ministry’s annual report lists DPRK as key threat, mentions counterstrike capabilities for first time

Kosuke Takahashi July 25, 2022

North Korea able to hit Japan with nuclear weapons, white paper warns

North Korea tests a train-launched ballistic missile in Jan. 2022 | Image: KCTV

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North Korea can strike Japan with nuclear-armed ballistic missiles, according to the recently released Defense of Japan 2022 White Paper, which also states that the weapons Pyongyang has tested this year pose unique challenges to Tokyo’s defense networks.

The annual report released Friday also introduced an argument for “counter-strike capabilities” for the first time. The ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) proposed earlier this year that Tokyo expand counterstrike options against possible North Korean attacks.

“North Korea is believed to have the capability to attack Japan with ballistic missiles carrying nuclear weapons, and it continues to develop ballistic missiles at an extremely rapid pace,” the white paper states.

It adds that the DPRK “has repeatedly launched intercontinental and other ballistic missiles at an extremely high frequency, unilaterally escalating provocations against the international community.”

These concerns, as well as a rising China and aggressive Russia, have apparently driven Tokyo to reexamine what has been for decades a strictly defense-only national security posture. The LDP’s proposals have urged the government to acquire retaliatory capabilities against an enemy’s command and control systems as well as military bases, a significant departure from Japan’s exclusively defense-oriented policy in the post-war period as defined by the nation’s pacifist constitution. 

The latest white paper also expresses concern about escalatory “provocative actions” from Pyongyang, an apparent reference to a seventh nuclear test the U.S. has repeatedly said could happen any time.

Pyongyang has conducted nearly two dozen missile test events this year. Many of these projectiles can theoretically hit Tokyo and all other major urban centers on the Japanese mainland, including rail-launched ballistic missiles and maneuverable warheads that are harder to detect and defend against. The white paper says North Korea’s military planners are “focusing on improving capabilities to breach missile defense networks” in Japan and elsewhere.

Japan has already been developing its own hypersonic missiles as part of its enemy base attack capabilities. In addition, the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) successfully launched an observation rocket from its Uchinoura Space Center on July 24. The S-520-RD1 rocket was equipped with test devices for a scramjet engine, part of the country’s hypersonic cruise missile system under development.

Meanwhile, this year’s white paper also expresses “grave concern about Russia’s continuing aggression against Ukraine” and cautioned that “unilateral changes to the status quo” challenge the whole foundation of the international order. 

By the end of 2022, the Japanese defense ministry plans major overhauls to three key documents to more deeply reflect Japan’s growing military preparedness: the National Security Strategy (NSS), National Defense Program Guidelines (NDPG) and the Medium-Term Defense Force Buildup Program (MTDP).

Former Japanese defense minister Satoshi Morimoto told NK News earlier this year that a higher defense budget is necessary for Japan to counteract growing military threats from North Korea, China and Russia.

Edited by Arius Derr