Japan said it will boost its missile defense capabilities following a North Korean military parade that featured what appeared to be a massive, new intercontinental ballistic missile.
“In order to respond to threats that are diversifying and complex, we will firmly work to strengthen our comprehensive missile deterrence capability,” said Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Katsunobu Kato during a Monday news conference, according to the Associated Press.
North Korea and its leader Kim Jong Un commemorated the 75th anniversary of the founding of its ruling Workers’ Party with a military parade that included the rollout of an intercontinental ballistic missile, which, if functional and not a mock-up, would be the largest ICBM in the hermit nation’s arsenal and one of the largest of its type in the world. Kim’s regime also touted an upgraded version of a submarine-launched ballistic missile.
North Korea’s new ICBM is much larger than the Hwasong-15 ICBM (~2 m in diameter). Here are two stills from the parade that help illustrate the difference. pic.twitter.com/dTNZkji72x
— Jeffrey Lewis (@ArmsControlWonk) October 10, 2020
Denuclearization talks have stalled between the United States, North Korea, and South Korea, and the weapons shown off at this weekend’s military parade further escalate tensions in the region. Japan’s Kato acknowledged the development on Monday.
“We understand that some of those missiles are said to make it difficult for us to respond with our conventional equipment,” he said.
Kato reportedly declined to elaborate upon his country’s assessment of the weapons North Korea showed off during the parade.
South Korea has also been trying to mitigate North Korean aggression and down-throttle the threat its northern neighbor poses. During South Korean President Moon Jae-in’s speech before the United Nations General Assembly in September, he called for an official end to the 70-year Korean War. Moon hoped the proposal could help deescalate the tensions that have been building over the past few months.
In June, North Korea said in a statement that it has no choice but to “counter nuclear with nuclear” because of the U.S. Over the summer, North Korea bombed an inter-Korean liaison office and threatened to send troops into demilitarized areas along the border.
Japan’s prime minister, Yoshihide Suga, was elected in September after Shinzo Abe, the country’s longest-serving prime minister who has been battling health issues, announced his resignation in August. Suga’s government is reportedly set to unveil a missile-defense plan in the coming months.
