It cited North Korea’s technological advances in recent nuclear tests and says Pyongyang might have achieved the capability to miniaturize atomic weapons and develop warheads. It said China’s escalating activity in the East China Sea caused Japan to scramble against Chinese warplanes more than 570 times last year. Japan called North Korea’s nuclear and missile development a “grave and imminent threat” to the region and international security, and criticized China’s increasingly assertive military action as “dangerous” in its annual defence report. It reiterated concerns that North Korean may have acquired a missile capable of launching as far as 10,000 kilometers (6,200 miles). The report called China’s reclamation moves in the South China Sea a provocation, and urged Beijing to accept a recent international arbitration ruling.

Source: Indian Express August 02, 2016 05:44 UTC