North Korea strongly criticized Japan's move to increase its defense budget today (Saturday), accusing Tokyo of preparing to fight an "aggressive war," according to Agence France-Presse.
Japanese media - including the local NHK station - reported this week that the Ministry of Defense requested a “record” budget for the next fiscal year, the value of which the press estimated at about 8,900 billion yen ($56 billion).
The official Korean Central News Agency in Pyongyang, commenting on this request, indicated that it “will once again break all historical records.”
The agency considered that this request, although not yet finally approved, “clearly shows a dangerous increase in the war budget, which will cause new crises in the region and the world,” expecting that “this huge increase in military expenditures will lead to strengthening military power in order to complete preparations for an aggressive war.”
In recent years, Japan has relaxed its strict adherence to the principle of pacifism that it has followed since the end of World War II. It is raising its military expenditures, strengthening its defense agreements, and deploying missile launchers on its remote islands.
As for the United States, which has long been allied with Japan and South Korea, it is seeking to open a line with Pyongyang, after President Donald Trump decided to reduce the scope of annual military exercises with Seoul, to deter potential threats emanating from North Korea, which possesses nuclear weapons.
Trump also announced that he will meet North Korean leader Kim Jong Un this year.
China, which is North Korea's most prominent ally, recently expressed its concern about what it sees as a "new militarization" on the part of Japan.
This year, Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's government is significantly reconsidering the national defense strategy, seeking to counter China's growing military ambitions.
In this context, Tokyo lifted its self-imposed ban on arms exports and increased its defense expenditures, while intensifying pressure to amend its pacifist constitution.
However, Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi reaffirmed last week, during his visit to a memorial honoring the Japanese killed in World War II, “the government’s determination to continue shouldering its responsibility in preserving the path that Japan took after the war, as a peace-loving nation.”
The Pakistani government announced that imprisoned former Prime Minister Imran Khan was returned to prison early Friday morning, after undergoing a medical examination in a private hospital, in implementation of an order issued by the Supreme Court regarding his receipt of medical care, according to what was reported by the Associated Press.
Pakistani Minister of Information, Atallah Tarar, said that Khan was transferred at midnight from Adiala Prison in the city of Rawalpindi to Shifa International Hospital in the capital, Islamabad, where he underwent a thorough examination by doctors before being returned to prison.
Tarar added in a post on the “X” platform: “A team of qualified doctors, including an ophthalmologist, a cardiologist, and an internal medicine doctor, conducted a comprehensive examination of him and declared that he is in good medical health.”
Tarrare pointed out that Khan's sister, Uzma Khan, was present throughout the examination and treatment period.
Khan's party, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, had previously confirmed that he had been taken to hospital based on an order issued by the Supreme Court earlier in the week.
Khan's family and party demanded that he be allowed to remain in the hospital to receive treatment.
A prominent Pakistani minister confirmed earlier that the government will abide by the Supreme Court's decision, and will consider the possibility of Khan receiving treatment abroad if it is not possible to provide adequate care within any state government facility.
A spokesman for the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party said today (Friday) that former Prime Minister Imran Khan was returned from a hospital in Islamabad to prison.
Khan was transferred from his prison to the hospital for medical examinations by order of the Supreme Court, according to what his party announced at dawn today.
Hundreds of police officers, some armed with batons, were deployed near the Shifa International Hospital in the capital, Islamabad, where the roads leading to it were closed.
Agence France-Presse quoted Zulfiqar Bukhari, spokesman for the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party led by Khan, as saying: “His arrival at Shifa International Hospital was confirmed. The Supreme Court order has been implemented.”
Former Pakistani president and party member Arif Alvi also confirmed Khan's transfer in a post on the X platform, adding that the entire country is "happy and dancing with joy."
Dozens of his supporters gathered near the private hospital.
The Supreme Court, composed of three judges, decided on Tuesday to transfer Khan “within the next two days” to the “Shifa International Hospital” in the capital, Islamabad, after his lawyers submitted a request to the court in which they confirmed the deterioration of his health condition and his need for medical examinations.
This year, Khan underwent eye treatment in a hospital, while his family and lawyers say that he lost a significant amount of sight in his right eye.
Under the court's decision, Khan will be allowed to meet his family members once a week, and to speak by phone to his two sons twice a week.
Khan's personal doctor Faisal Sultan, as well as his sister Uzma Khan, who is also a doctor, will be allowed to participate in his medical follow-up.
Khan (73 years old) served as Prime Minister between 2018 and 2022, and has been imprisoned since 2023 on corruption charges, which he denies. His arrest was followed by nationwide protests in May 2023, which included violence and the arrest of hundreds.
Khan and his wife Bushra Bibi were sentenced late last year to 17 years in prison.
