An undated photo released by the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) on 05 March 2026 shows North Korea’s first 5,000-ton multipurpose destroyer, the Choe Hyon, sailing in waters near the western coastal city of Nampho, North Korea. Photo by KCNA / EPA
July 31 (Asia Today) — North Korea warned Friday that a physical military confrontation on the Korean Peninsula had become “a matter of time,” criticizing efforts to strengthen the U.S. military command in Japan.
The Korean Central News Agency said in a commentary that the expansion showed U.S. Forces Japan was being transformed into a command center capable of directing American and allied forces throughout the region.
“Today, a physical clash in the Korean Peninsula region is no longer a question of whether it will occur but a question of when,” the state-run news agency said.
The commentary apparently responded to remarks by U.S. Forces Japan commander Lt. Gen. Stephen Jost in a recent interview with Japan’s Asahi Shimbun.
Jost reportedly said military planners should prepare on the assumption that a regional crisis was not a question of whether it would occur but when.
He also said the command had added 215 personnel compared with the previous year to strengthen its capabilities.
North Korea claimed that U.S. troops stationed in Japan would be among the first reinforcements deployed to South Korea in the event of a conflict on the peninsula.
“It cannot be denied that our republic is the target of this war command,” the commentary said.
Pyongyang also accused Washington of intending to use Japan’s Self-Defense Forces as a principal combat force in a broader Asia-Pacific conflict.
The statements reflect North Korea’s repeated criticism of expanding security cooperation among South Korea, the United States and Japan.
North Korea has continued to develop and modernize its nuclear and conventional military forces while denouncing military deployments and exercises conducted by the three countries.
The commentary also cited a combined sustainment exercise conducted by the South Korea-U.S. Combined Forces Command from July 13 through Thursday.
North Korea used insulting language to describe the South Korean military and portrayed the exercise as evidence of preparation for a prolonged regional conflict.
Pyongyang argued that what it described as increasing U.S. military pressure justified continued development of its nuclear arsenal.
“The United States’ reckless military adventurism, which openly reveals its unchanging hostile intent and seeks to build large-scale offensive forces and the capability for prolonged, high-intensity operations, has led us once again to an irreversible final conclusion,” the commentary said.
North Korea said that conclusion was that it must continue developing and advancing what it calls a nuclear deterrent for self-defense.
South Korea’s Unification Ministry said the statement repeated North Korea’s longstanding argument that military cooperation among South Korea, the United States and Japan justified its possession of nuclear weapons.
“North Korea reaffirmed its existing position of criticizing military cooperation among South Korea and the United States, the United States and Japan and the three countries while insisting on the legitimacy of its nuclear weapons,” ministry deputy spokesperson Jang Yun-jung said at a regular briefing.
U.S. Forces Japan is based at Yokota Air Base outside Tokyo. It oversees bilateral security coordination, joint exercises and readiness involving U.S. forces stationed in Japan.
The United States has recently adjusted its command structure in Japan to improve coordination between U.S. and Japanese forces and strengthen its ability to respond to regional crises.
— Reported by Asia Today; translated by UPI
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Original Korean report: https://www.asiatoday.co.kr/kn/view.php?key=20260731010011641
