Two North Korean spy boats disguised as trawlers recently intruded deep into Japanese territorial waters in the Sea of Japan. This was the second incident to have heightened tension between Tokyo and Pyongyang since last August, when a Taepodong ballistic missile test-fired by North Korea flew over northern Japan and fell into the Pacific.
The government filed a formal protest with Pyongyang after determining that the vessels were North Korean spy boats, but Pyongyang said it had nothing to do with the incident. The boats evaded pursuing Maritime Self-Defense Force destroyers and fled to Chongchin port in northern North Korea. A North Korean Foreign Ministry spokesman said in an official statement that Japan is making a fuss over the incident in a conspiracy to expedite Diet passage of the legislative package for implementing the revised guidelines for Japan-U.S. defense cooperation.
Through activities of this kind, North Korea is effectively encouraging Japan's defense buildup.