Japan Press Weekly

Tweet

2022 June 1 - 7 [WORLD]

Power-based approach to N. Korea’s missile launches will cause instability in region

The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) on the morning of June 5 fired 6-8 ballistic missiles from multiple sites simultaneously. Later on the same day, Japanese Communist Party Chair Shii Kazuo on Twitter strongly protested against the DPRK’s missile launch.

Shii in his tweet criticized North Korea’s ballistic missile launch for violating the UN Security Council’s resolutions banning the nation’s nuclear weapons development and all ballistic missile-related activities. He pointed out that leaders of Japan, the U.S., and South Korea have concluded respectively with the North Korean leader an agreement for diplomatic resolution of issues. He demanded that the Japanese government conduct diplomatic negotiations with Pyongyang in a serious manner.

Presumably in the background behind the frequent missile tests, there is North Korea’s intent to use the situation where the international community is having difficulty dealing with Russia’s invasion of Ukraine as a golden opportunity to jolt the United States.

On the other hand, in this kind of environment, the U.S. has repeatedly held joint military drills with its allies near North Korea. In April, the USS Abraham Lincoln Carrier Strike Group arrived in the Sea of Japan from its homeport on the U.S. mainland to conduct joint training with the Japanese Self-Defense Forces. In addition, on June 4, the USS Ronald Reagan Carrier Strike Group whose homeport is the U.S. Yokosuka base in Japan (Yokosuka City, Kanagawa Pref.) participated in a joint drill with South Korean forces in the waters off Okinawa for the first time since November 2017. It appears that in reaction against the June 4 U.S.-South Korea joint drill, North Korea conducted missile tests on the following day.

The Japanese government and the ruling Liberal Democratic Party loudly proclaim that Japan should possess an enemy base attack capability by saying that North Korea’s missile performance has advanced to the level that they cannot be intercepted with Japan’s missile defense shield.

A vicious cycle of military responses is taking place in Japan’s relations not only with Russia and China but also with North Korea. Regional instability will become worse unless Japan decides to conduct dialogue and diplomatic negotiations to resolve the current tensions.