January 31, 2002
Text of commentary carried by 29 January Nodong Sinmun, entitled: "The Self-Defence Forces are forces of aggression even if they are wearing the UN cap" by North Korean radio on 29 January
The Japanese reactionaries, who opened the door to the overseas dispatch of the Self-Defence Forces [SDF], are accelerating preparations to become a military giant and stir a war of aggression.
The Japan Defence Agency is trying to fix UN peacekeeping activities as the SDF's basic duty in the new defence programme outline that it is currently drafting. Until now, the Japanese SDF was legally prohibited from participating in military operations of UN peacekeeping activities.
At the end of last year, the Japanese government and the ruling party revised their law on participation in UN peacekeeping activities. By revising the law, they allowed the SDF's participation in the UN peacekeeping forces' military operations and took measures that greatly eased the standards for the usage of weapons. They are trying to elevate its status by setting UN peacekeeping activities as the SDF's basic task in the new defence programme outline. This means allowing the SDF's participation in the UN peacekeeping forces' military operations as well as regarding it as the SDF's basic duty.
Such an act, therefore, is a grave development of situation. This is also an official declaration to change the Japanese SDF's basic duty from defence to overseas aggression. As a result, Japan's military strategy changed to a pre-emptive strike strategy from the exclusively defence-oriented defence strategy, whose basics lie in blocking outside attack. The stage for Japan's military operations also changed suddenly from the neighbouring areas to the whole world.
The Japanese armed forces' military equipment is becoming more modern in accordance with the expansion of its stage for military operations. The Japanese Maritime Self-Defence Force is trying to supplement new-model, high-speed missile boats equipped with all types of modern armed equipment.
Sasebo of Nagasaki, Maizuru of Kyoto, and other western parts of Japan near the Korean Peninsula were set as the major areas that would be provided with new-model, high-speed missile boats. This is part of a measure to concentrate the dispatch of the elite forces of the SDF in the western part of Japan. Therefore, this can be considered as preparations for a war of renewed aggression against DPRK [Democratic People's Republic of Korea].
Japan has the second largest maritime armed force in the Pacific region next to the United States. Recently, Japan decided to introduce in-flight refuelling tankers while building aircraft carriers. Such measures have nothing to do with Japan's defence.
These entirely stem from Japan's bellicose policy to reinforce its status as a military giant, launch a war of interference, and exercise force by dispatching forces of aggression to any part of the world.
Japan is trying to justify these kinds of aggressive overseas military operations while wearing the UN cap. Japan's ulterior motive is to dash out to many troubled areas in the world and carry out the role of international police under the name of the UN peacekeeping forces and expand its sphere of domination and markets.
No matter how hard Japan tries to disguise itself in the cloak of the UN peacekeeping forces, it cannot cover up its aggressive nature of being hell-bent on overseas military expansion.
Historically, Japan has never contributed to maintaining world peace. Rather, it only has a disgraceful war record of destroying peace. In the last century, the Japanese imperialists attacked and occupied Korea under the slogan of global peace. Under the pretext of Asia's peace, it drove many Asian countries into a sea of blood and fire and also inflicted immeasurable pain, misery and calamities upon the Asian people.
Throwing away its camouflage signpost as a peaceful nation, which it had held on to for half a century after the war, Japan revealed its true nature as a nation of war that went crazy over overseas aggression by fabricating all kinds of war laws.
Japan is trying to justify, beautify, and embellish its past crimes of aggression instead of repenting and apologizing for them. Japan's ulterior motive behind the justification of its history of aggression is to repeat it.
In reality, Japan is rushing towards a path of reckless aggression and war to revive the dominationist order of its past colonial empire, during which it acted as Asia's master.
Japan's desire to become a military giant and its desire for overseas aggression will only lead to its self-destruction. The people of Asia and the world who value peace must block and destroy Japan's manoeuvres for overseas aggression with high vigilance.
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