North Korea reported a commentary criticizing the Japanese government’s 2026 defense white paper as a “Reinvasion White Paper” and raising concerns about Japan’s growing status as a military power. The North Korean side positioned the strengthening of self-defensive war deterrent capabilities as essential to securing national sovereignty, citing the maintenance of regional peace and stability.
North Korea’s Korean Central News Agency and Rodong Sinmun published a commentary describing Japan’s 2026 defense white paper as a “Reinvasion White Paper aimed at legalizing the operation of the war machine.” The commentary pointed to Japan’s path toward becoming a military power and claimed that it represented the most imminent threat facing the world at present.
The commentary also criticized Defense Minister Koizumi Shinjiro (小泉進次郎) as “the vanguard of militarization” for referring to the strengthening of Japan’s defense capabilities, and concluded that he was driving Japan down a dangerous path. It further claimed that strengthening self-defensive war deterrent capabilities in every respect was essential to protecting national sovereignty and maintaining peace and stability in the region.