The recent agreement by Japan and the United States on co-producing air-to-air missiles is a clear act of military aggression aimed at stoking regional tensions, stated North Korea’s state news agency KCNA.
“Certainly, the center of gravity of the US hegemony-oriented military security strategy is changing and it is a new warning signal for the Asia-Pacific regional society including the countries in Northeast Asia,” an official of DPRK’s defense ministry who did not name specific countries was cited as saying.
It was emphasized that “the US has connived at and encouraged Japan’s moves for a military giant since last century.”
The US-Japan deal that drew North Korea's flak was secured during Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s recent visit, and aims to fast-track co-production of the AIM-120 air-to-air missile system.