N.Korea claims US military in Japan transformed into "war command"

The headquarters of US Forces Japan is being transformed into a "war command" that would play a central role in any future armed conflict in the Asia-Pacific region, North Korea's state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) has claimed.

The report was published in response to remarks by the commander of US Forces Japan, who said the headquarters' personnel had been increased by more than 200 service members since 2025 to strengthen its capabilities.

According to the commander, the expansion has enabled round-the-clock operational readiness and improved the command's ability to respond rapidly to regional crises.

KCNA alleged that Washington is restructuring US Forces Japan from a command focused primarily on administrative functions into a joint command with real authority to direct military operations.

The agency linked the move to US plans to integrate its command structure with Japan's Joint Operations Command, established last year for the Japan Self-Defense Forces.

According to KCNA, the reforms are intended to facilitate joint US-Japanese military operations in the event of war while expanding the ability of US forces to conduct independent operations across the region.

The agency claimed that US forces stationed in Japan would be among the first to be deployed in the event of a military conflict on the Korean Peninsula.

The report also asserted that the United States, Japan and South Korea continue to strengthen trilateral military cooperation through joint exercises, describing this as evidence that Washington remains committed to confronting North Korea. It argued that the situation requires Pyongyang to further enhance its nuclear deterrent capabilities.

Drawing a historical parallel with the US Far East Command during the Korean War, KCNA concluded that turning the current US Forces Japan headquarters into a "war command" would, as in the past, become a "defeated command."

By Bakhtiyar Abbasov