North Korea on Wednesday condemned Japan‘s recent push to build up its military, branding it as “preparations for a war of aggression.”

A commentary carried by the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) noted Japan is planning to import over 20 U.S.-made reconnaissance drones, and pushing to possess aircraft carriers and introduce the latest stealth fighters.

“The gravity of the issue lies in the fact that Japan pushes ahead with such arms buildup under the pretext of coping with ’threats from neighboring countries,‘” the state media said.

“This shows that Japan is stepping up the preparations for a war of aggression in order to realize the ambition for overseas expansion at any cost,” it added.

The KCNA said Japan’s arms buildup is aiming to “equip itself with war hardware for preemptive attack and invasion” rather than as defensive means to cope with threats from other countries. (Yonhap)