North Korea has criticized Japan’s plans to load its Aegis destroyer with U.S. Tomahawk long-range cruise missiles, accusing the country of “advancing the time of reinvasion” in a reference to Japan’s colonialist past and its military aggression during the early part of the 20th century. 

In a statement on Saturday, the North’s state-run Korean Central News Agency(KCNA) said Japan’s military movements over the past several years have been oriented toward acquiring preemptive strike capabilities.

The news agency called the Tomahawk missile an “infamous weapon” that has been used in many wars to carry out preemptive strikes against the enemies of the United States.

It added that Tokyo’s latest move suggests it has entered the deployment phase for long-range strike capabilities for preemptive attacks.

Predicting that Japan will likely target North Korea first in a return to its past aggression, the KCNA said Pyongyang cannot stand idly by in the face of what it called the “reckless maneuvers of the descendants of militarism.”