THE WALL STREET JOURNAL. Tuesday, September 13, 2016 |A
Korea appears capable of con-
ducting another nuclear test
at any time. Pyongyang has
expanded its nuclear-test site
in the country’s far northeast
in recent months with new
tunneling for underground
detonations of nuclear bombs.KIM KYUNG-HOON/REUTERSWORLD NEWS
China, which is North Korea’s
chief economic and diplo-
matic partner, bore “great re-
sponsibility” for Pyongyang’s
nuclear stance.
A Chinese foreign ministry
spokeswoman, referring to
the planned deployment of a
U.S.-built missile-defense sys-
tem in South Korea, warned
that “unilateral action” would
aggravate tension. On Mon-
day, she said both the cause
of the nuclear problem and
the solution lies with “the
U.S., not China.”
Against that backdrop,
China and Russia on Monday
kicked off eight days of long-
planned joint military exer-
cises, highlighting an increas-
ingly close relationship
between two powers with sig-
nificant differences with the
U.S. For the first time, they
held the exercises in the
South China Sea, another
source of building U.S.-Chi-nese tension. China’s navy
said the exercises would in-
volve drills to practice de-
fending and seizing islands, a
move likely to unsettle neigh-
bors with overlapping territo-
rial claims in the sea. China’s
air force also said that it sent
jet fighters, bombers and
other aircraft on a drill over
the Western Pacific on Mon-
day.
Following its nuclear test
last week, North Korea said
that it can now easily put a
nuclear device on a missile,
escalating concerns. North
Korea often threatens Japan,
the U.S. and South Korea with
attack, citing the need to pre-
emptively counter an invasion
by the U.S. and its allies. The
U.S. has about 54,000 military
personnel based in Japan,
many of them on the southern
island of Okinawa.
On Monday, South Korea’s
Defense Ministry said NorthNorth Korean dictator Kim
Jong Un has ordered further
missile and nuclear testing
this year as Pyongyang pur-
sues a range of nuclear-tipped
missiles to threaten the U.S.
and its allies.
Japan’s Defense Ministry
recently submitted a request
for an increase in its budget
that includes funds to expand
the coverage area of its Pa-
triot antimissile systems to
better defend against North
Korea. The ministry declined
to comment on her U.S. trip.
Ms. Inada’s trip to the U.S.
as defense minister at first
looked like a get-acquainted
visit, but tackling the North
Korea threat has become an
urgent agenda item.
“She’s not the first Japa-
nese defense minister to have
little experience with defense
issues, but it will require her
to be a fast learner,” said
Ralph Cossa, president of thePacific Forum CSIS, a Hono-
lulu-based think tank.
U.S.-Japanese defense co-
operation has increased under
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. A
2015 agreement on defense
guidelines increased U.S.-
Japan coordination in many
areas, including maritime se-
curity and missile defense.
Ms. Inada and Mr. Abe both
criticized China in speeches
at the Monday event after To-
kyo said four Chinese coast-
guard vessels sailed close to
the Japanese-controlled Sen-
kaku islands on Sunday. Ear-
lier a Chinese naval vessel en-
tered waters around the
islands.
The countries have been
facing off in the East China
Sea over the uninhabited is-
lands, called Diaoyu in China.
Without naming China specif-
ically, Mr. Abe referred to a
“violation of Japan’s territo-
rial waters by a warship,”
saying this put Tokyo in an
“extremely severe situation.”
In the U.S., Ms. Inada is
likely to discuss the maritime
tensions as well as the long-
stalled relocation of an Amer-
ican military base on Japan’s
southern island of Okinawa.
Mr. Abe’s administration has
faced strong local resistance
to the plan to move the base
to a rural area. Opposition to
the U.S. military presence in
Okinawa surged in June after
the rape and murder of a local
woman. A U.S. military con-
tractor has been charged in
the case.
Ms. Inada’s nationalist
views have caused friction
with U.S. ally South Korea.
Before taking office she regu-
larly visited the Yasukuni
Shrine in Tokyo, which South
Koreans and Chinese see as
glorifying Japan’s military
past. Since taking office, Ms.
Inada has said she wants to
improve ties with South Ko-
rea and has refrained from
visiting the shrine.
—Te-Ping Chen
and Jeremy Page in Beijing
contributed to this article.North Korea’s recent nu-
clear detonation and acceler-
ated missile testing raise the
impetus for closer military
cooperation between Tokyo
and Washington, as Japan’s
new defense minister pre-
pares for her first official
visit to the U.S. this week.
Tomomi Inada, a lawyer
with no defense experience, is
expected to meet with U.S.
Secretary of Defense Ash
Carter on Thursday, U.S. offi-
cials said. Ms. Inada became
defense minister last month.
North Korea’s nuclear pro-
gram poses a “serious and im-
minent threat,” she told mili-
tary officers in Tokyo on
Monday, warning also of ris-
ing tensions with China over
disputed islands in the East
China Sea. To cope with secu-
rity challenges, Japan needs
to reinforce its alliance with
the U.S. and build cooperation
with other countries such as
the Philippines and Australia,
she said.
North Korea fired three
missiles last week that landed
about 150 miles off the west
coast of Okushiri Island, close
to Hokkaido, the northern-
most of Japan’s four main is-
lands. In August, a North Ko-
rean missile landed around
the same distance from the
coast of Japan’s main island
of Honshu.
The missiles, followed by
the nuclear explosion last
week, have intensified recrim-
inations and diplomacy from
Beijing to Tokyo to Washing-
ton to New York, where the
United Nations is considering
steps to penalize Pyongyang.
Mr. Carter last week said
By Alastair Gale in
Seoul and Chieko
Tsuneoka in TokyoNuclear Test Raises U.S.-Japan Stakes
North Korea’s threats
come as Japan’s new
defense minister plans
visit to Washington
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe speaks at the Defense Ministry on Monday. Tomomi Inada, below, became defense minister last month.FRANCK ROBICHON/EUROPEAN PRESSPHOTO AGENCY*To reprint or license content, please contact our reprints and licensing department at +1 800-843-0008 or http://www.djreprints.com