North Korea Warns Japan Not To Place Long-range Missiles In Kyushu

Japan's Patriot defense system in Iwakuni. (Wikimedia Commons/US Marine Corps/Cpl. Aaron Henson/Released)

JAKARTA - North Korea (North Korea) warned Japan against placing long-range missiles in the Kyushu region in March 2026, saying the attack capability would "broaden the escalation of persistent tensions" in Northeastern Asia, state media KCNA said on Thursday.

Pyongyang accuses Japan of continuing the history of past aggression through measures such as strengthening the Japan-United States military alliance and collusion with NATO forces (North Atlantic Treaty Organization), KCNA said, citing the head of policy section of the Japan Institute of Studies under North Korea's Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

"All military means and various forms of movement that directly target the DPRK are targets that must be targeted," the KCNA report said, using the abbreviation of North Korea's official name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK).

Last Saturday, government sources said Japan was considering placing a long-range missile on the southwest island of Kyushu as part of the country's efforts to acquire a "backlash capability" to strike enemy targets in the event of an emergency, Kyodo News reported.

The placement, which is expected to begin at the end of the next fiscal year in March 2026, is aimed at strengthening the security of the country's Nansei Island cluster, which is strategically important due to its closeness to Taiwan, amid growing concerns the self-ruled island of democracy could be invaded by China.

Authorities are assessing the possible location of the placement, with local residents worried that they could be targeted by enemy attacks, the source said.

The missile can be placed in the regimental garnisun of the surface-to-ship missile of the Ground Self-Defense Forces in Yufu in Oita Prefecture and the city of Kumamoto, according to the source.

The prefecture of the southern island of Okinawa, which is located closer to mainland China, is unlikely to be a location for placement amid fears it could escalate tensions with Beijing, the source said.

The missile to be deployed is an upgraded version of GSDF's Type-12 ground-to-ship missile, with an expanded range of up to 1,000 kilometers. Placement in Kyushu will put North Korea and China's coastal territory within reach.

Last month, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un said trilateral military cooperation between the United States, Japan and South Korea raised tensions in the region and promised to take countermeasures, including further development of nuclear power.