N. Korea slams Japan's Yasukuni shrine visits as 'neo-militarist frenzy'

North Korea launched a scathing attack on Japanese politicians on Monday for visiting the controversial Yasukuni Shrine and offering ritual tributes. The North Korean government, as reported by the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), denounced the move as a neo-militarist frenzy. The KCNA accused Japanese politicians of harboring militaristic ambitions by paying respects at the shrine on August 15, the anniversary of Japan's 1945 surrender in World War II.

Yasukuni Shrine commemorates approximately 2.46 million Japanese war casualties, including 14 individuals convicted as Class A war criminals by international tribunals for their roles in the conflict. This year's visit, according to the KCNA, took on even more ominous significance, coinciding with what they described as Japan's dangerous military actions, which were unprecedented under previous administrations.

The agency pointed to Japan's deployment of preemptive-strike weapons, revisions to its defense industry laws, and attempts to amend nuclear-related legislation as evidence of this alarming trend. Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's surprise remote worship at Yasukuni was interpreted by the KCNA as her scheme to stoke a mood of possible invasion across Japan and her efforts to fulfill her long-held aspiration for overseas expansion.

Pyongyang's latest condemnation of Tokyo comes amid a recent surge in North Korean criticism of what it describes as Japan's accelerating military expansion and attempts to resurrect its militaristic legacy.