Japan’s ruling party reportedly agreed this week to pursue “enemy base strike capability,” revisiting an oft-discussed change to Japanese defense policy that experts say is driven in part by increasing concerns about North Korea’s growing missile arsenal.

The DPRK almost always launches missiles eastward in the direction of Japan. There have been 11 projectile tests this year, with its latest — a suspected Hwasong-15 intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) — splashing inside Japan’s exclusive maritime economic zone.

“North Korea’s series of missile launches including [the] recent ICBM certainly contributed to the active discussions regarding enemy base strike capabilities in Japan,” Sachio