North Korea slammed Japan’s new Defense White Paper on Friday for labeling the DPRK an “imminent threat,” calling the annual report “shameless sophism” that Tokyo is using to justify its ongoing militarization.

In a statement released via the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), the DPRK’s foreign ministry accused Japan of being “obsessed” with the idea of retaking the Korean Peninsula, while claiming that the entire Japanese archipelago would become a U.S. military outpost. 

“The region and the international community should heighten natural vigilance against Japan’s ambition for becoming a military giant recklessly transforming day after day and resolutely oppose and