Japan raises alarms after North Korea parades new drones, ICBMs
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un shared centre stage with senior delegates from Russia and China as he rolled out his most powerful nuclear-capable missiles in a military parade in capital Pyongyang.
The parade capped off the North Korean festivities for the 70th anniversary of the armistice that stopped fighting in the 1950-53 Korean War. / Photo: AP
Japan has said that North Korea posed a more serious threat to its national security than "ever before", as nuclear-armed Pyongyang holds a military parade featuring new drones and intercontinental ballistic missiles.
In its annual white paper — a rundown of the most pressing military threats and plans to ensure stability — published on Friday, Japan's defence ministry made a case for a significant hike in domestic defence spending as the world enters "a new era of crisis".
While China's growing military might and Russia's invasion of Ukraine were major focuses of the white paper, North Korea also ranked as a key concern for Japan.
"North Korea's military activities pose an even more grave and imminent threat to Japan's national security than ever before," the document said.
"It is believed that North Korea has the ability to attack Japan with nuclear weapons fitted to ballistic missiles."
The white paper, approved by the cabinet of Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, comes as the North ramps up the frequency of its missile tests and hosts a military parade.
The parade featured an array of new weaponry, including some first unveiled at a defence expo on Wednesday in Pyongyang, visited by Kim and Shoigu.
North Korea shows off military power
Flanked by visiting Russian and Chinese officials, Kim Jong Un oversaw a North Korean military parade featuring new drones and Pyongyang's nuclear-capable intercontinental ballistic missiles, state media reported on Friday.
At least four new North Korean military drones were towed on trailers through Pyongyang's Kim Il Sung square at the parade late Thursday, state media images showed, while another drone appeared to conduct a flyover overhead.
Standing between Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu and Chinese politburo member Li Hongzhong in the VIP viewing stands, Kim smiled and saluted as thousands of soldiers marched past, trailed by the country's most powerful ICBMs, which are banned under UN sanctions.
The event, featuring Kim's first-known foreign guests since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, was to mark the 70th anniversary of the Korean War armistice, which ended open hostilities and is celebrated as Victory Day.
Kim "extended warm militant greetings" to the parade, the official Korean Central News Agency said, and North Korea's defence minister Kang Sun Nam made a speech.
The United States has no chance "of survival in case they use nuclear weapons against the DPRK", Kang said, referring to the North by its official name.
He warned that any attempts by the United States to use armed force against the North would cause an "unimaginable and unforeseen crisis".
The United States has no chance "of survival in case they use nuclear weapons against the DPRK", Defence Minister Kang said, referring to the North by its official name.
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