Japan Contemplates Pre-Emptive Strike On North Korea
Posted July 10, 2006 12:00 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
If North Korea’s recent missile tests were an attempt at garnering international attention, it seems to be working. The question is whether the attention their getting will ultimately be the kind they want.
On Monday, Japan announced it was considering a pre-emptive strike on the communist country’s missile bases, first trying to determine whether such an attack would violate its constitution.
When North Korea’s missiles fell into the Sea of Japan last week tensions were raised in Japan, where officials began questioning whether the country ought to take steps to better defend itself.
“If we accept that there is no other option to prevent an attack … there is the view that attacking the launch base of the guided missiles is within the constitutional right of self-defence,” Chief Cabinet Secretary Shinzo Abe said.
Currently, Japan’s constitution doesn’t allow for the use of military force to settle international disputes. But that hasn’t stopped it from maintaining a 240,000-member Self-Defence Force.
Still, it’s not that simple. Japan has no attacking weapons that can reach North Korea, meaning an strike would primarily feature ground-to-air and ground-to-vessel missiles.
Despite resistance from China and Russia, Japan is also pushing for a UN Security Council resolution that would prohibit countries from transferring missile-related items, materials and technology to North Korea.
“It’s important for the international community to express a strong will in response to the North Korean missile launches,” Abe said. “This resolution is an effective way of expressing that.”
China and Russia, which both have veto power, have voiced opposition to the measure, while the United States, Britain and France have supported the move.
Surprisingly, South Korea, which hasn’t taken a public position on the resolution, rebuked Japan’s call for action Sunday, ostensibly accusing the Asian economic power of overreacting.
“There is no reason to fuss over this from the break of dawn like Japan, but every reason to do the opposite,” a statement from President Roh Moo-hyun’s office said, suggesting that Tokyo was contributing to tensions on the Korean peninsula.
But Japanese officials don’t seem to care, and insist they have to do what they have to do.
“There is no mistake that the missile launch … is a threat to Japan and the region. It is only natural for Japan to take measures of risk management against such a threat,” Abe said.
