North Korea has accused the United States and Japan of accelerating joint weapons production

A North Korean defense Ministry official strongly condemned the push by the United States and Japan to jointly produce weapons and equipment, calling it a new factor fueling regional instability and stressing that North Korea will continue to stockpile a strong deterrent force.

Kcna reported on Wednesday (April 2) that the deputy General director of the Equipment General Bureau of the North Korean Defense Ministry issued a statement on Tuesday (1), referring to the joint production plan of the "AIM-120" advanced medium-range air-to-air missile (AMRAAM) being promoted by the United States and Japan, saying that the AIM-120 has become another joint weapon of the US-Japan military alliance. The arms cooperation between the United States and Japan aims to strengthen the military containment of regional countries and send a new "warning signal" to the Asia-Pacific region, including Northeast Asian countries.

He said that the DPRK will strengthen its own deterrence capability to actively respond to the US and its followers' aggravation of the instability of the regional strategic environment and make the enemy countries give up their political and military ambitions, and this goal will continue to be the priority of the DPRK.

U.S. Secretary of Defense William Hegseth and Japanese Defense Minister Gen Nakatani held talks on March 30 and reached consensus on accelerating the AIM-120 missile joint cooperation program.