North Korea has accused the United States and Japan of turning their alliance into a nuclear coalition that threatens regional security, saying the move justifies the North’s military buildup. 

The North advanced the position on Friday in an article carried by the country’s state Korean Central News Agency.

Warning against the dangerous evolution of the military alliance between Washington and Tokyo, North Korean international affairs analyst Ri Myong-nam said in the article that Japan’s ambitions for military expansion, backed by the U.S., have crossed a critical threshold.

The analyst said the U.S.-Japan alliance has effectively turned into a nuclear alliance, citing recent developments such as the elevation of U.S.-Japan extended deterrence talks to the ministerial level and the recent reaffirmation of the two countries’ extended deterrence guidelines.

The article also cited Japanese authorities’ recent tour to a base for U.S. B-52 strategic bombers and joint tabletop exercises simulating the use of U.S. nuclear weapons.

The analyst argued that these actions clearly justify the North’s efforts to strengthen its national defense capabilities.