As an ethnic North Korean, Kim Myong-chol says he lives in "a hostile environment" in Japan. There have so far been no reports of Japanese targeting North Koreans living here, but as concern over the possibility of a missile or nuclear attack rises, Kim says incidents have happened in the past and are possible to occur again.

"There have been attacks by right-wingers on children from North Korean schools at times of tension in the past, but it has been quiet so far," he told DW. He added that police have had a higher presence close to schools affiliated with Chongryon, the association that represents North Korean residents of Japan, since previous incidents.

When Pyongyang confirmed in September 2002 that its agents had abducted 13 Japanese citizens, there was an upsurge in anger aimed at the North Korean community in Japan. There were demonstrations outside the fortress-like headquarters of Chongryon, which serves as North Korea's embassy in Japan as the two nations have no diplomatic ties, while schools received threatening phone calls and pupils were roughed up on their way to and from schools.

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Kim, who is executive director of The Centre for North Korea-US Peace and an unofficial mouthpiece of the Pyongyang regime, said he has been a target of the Japanese authorities in the past and that police once searched his home for communications equipment on the suspicion that he was an agent.

Despite the pressure that he lives under, Kim is adamant that North Korea will emerge triumphant in this latest confrontation with the United States, South Korea, Japan and a growing number of other states arrayed against it.

"We are confident that the North Korean government will defeat the US; we have no doubts about it at all," he said.

There are an estimated 610,000 Korean residents in Japan; the majority of them are descendants of forced laborers brought here during Japan's colonial occupation of the Korean Peninsula. Around 150,000 still swear allegiance to the North Korean regime.

And many in Japan are concerned that North Korean doctrine and adulation for the ruling family of Kim Jong Un are being instilled in the younger generation of North Korean children in Chongryon's schools.

Across Japan, there are about 60 schools - ranging from kindergartens to universities - that are affiliated with Chongryon. Portraits of Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il, the present dictator's grandfather and father respectively, look down on pupils in every classroom and students are taught an alternative view of the world. In history classes, for example, they learn that South Korea and the US started the Korean War in 1950 by invading the North.

Around 10,000 children of ethnic Koreans attend the schools, down significantly from the 40,000 that attended Chongryon schools in their heyday, in the 1970s.

Abolition demand

If Ken Kato had his way, the institutions would be abolished. "It is like having a school for the so-called Islamic State or al Qaeda in Japan," he told DW. "The children at these schools are taught to hate Japan, to hate the US and to carry out a revolution to invade South Korea so that they can 'liberate' its people.

"They teach these children to use violence and promote values that are the opposite of peace, freedom and democracy," said Kato, who is director of Tokyo-based Human Rights in Asia and a member of International Coalition to Stop Crimes Against Humanity in North Korea.

There are also suggestions that teachers at North Korean schools in Japan are assisting the regime to carry out criminal activities, Kato noted.

So Kay Se, the former headmaster of Shimonoseki Korean School, is wanted by the police here for allegedly helping to smuggle 250 kilograms of amphetamines into Japan, while Kim Kil Uk, the former head of Osaka Korean School, is on Interpol's wanted list in connection with the abduction of Tadaaki Hara from Miyazaki Prefecture in June 1980.

Hara is just one of the dozens of Japanese that North Korea abducted to instruct its agents to infiltrate society here. Pyongyang claims he died in 1986 but has provided no evidence.

Both So and Kim are believed to have escaped to North Korea.

Kato is among those who believe that more should be done to stop North Korean residents of Japan abetting the regime in Pyongyang.

Billions sent to Pyongyang

Billions of yen earned by North Koreans living in Japan - through means both legitimate and illegitimate - have been funneled to Pyongyang, although the Japanese government last year closed one loophole by banning bank remittances to North Korea. According to Kato, as many as 40 percent of the members of organized crime groups in Japan are Korean, earning money from loan-sharking, illegal gambling operations, prostitution, protection rackets and drugs.

Narcotics, in particular, have proved a significant source of income for Pyongyang.

In December 2001, a North Korean vessel disguised as a fishing boat opened fire on Japanese Coast Guard vessels about 300 kilometers off southern Japan. In the ensuing six-hour firefight, the 15-strong North Korean crew was killed and the boat was sunk.

When it was subsequently raised, it was discovered that the vessel had been fitted with a concealed anti-aircraft gun and stern doors to allow a smaller boat to be deployed, presumably to deliver drugs or agents onto a Japanese beach.

In April 2003, a North Korean freighter was boarded off Australia and authorities found 50 kilograms of heroin, with a street value of tens of millions of dollars.

In both cases, the North Korean government denied any involvement. In other cases, North Korean diplomats have been accused of using the diplomatic bag to import drugs that are then sold.

Through front companies, Chongryon is also suspected of illegally procuring technology that could benefit the North's nuclear and missile programs.

ICBM threat and North Korea's overall military strength Major achievement In early June 2017, North Korea test-launched an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) for the first time. Testing an ICBM marked a major military achievement for Pyongyang and a serious escalation of tensions with the United States and its allies in the region, particularly South Korea and Japan.

ICBM threat and North Korea's overall military strength Trouble with warheads At the time, defense experts said the ICBM could reach as far as the US states of Alaska and Hawaii. However, it was unclear if North Korea can field an ICBM capable of carrying a nuclear warhead on its cone that could survive reentry into the Earth's atmosphere. North Korean state media claimed the ICBM was capable of carrying a "large, heavy nuclear warhead" to any part of the United States.

ICBM threat and North Korea's overall military strength Pyongyang's nuclear tests - six times and counting The ICBM is believed to be a step forward in the North's nuclear program. Despite pressure from the international community, Pyongyang has made no secret of its nuclear ambitions. Alongside its ritual ballistic missile tests, North Korea has conducted nuclear tests on at least six occasions, including one in September 2017.

ICBM threat and North Korea's overall military strength US running out of patience? Responding to the first ICBM test with a show of force, the US and South Korean troops on conducted "deep strike" precision missile drills using Army Tactical Missile System (ATACMS) and the Republic of Korea's Hyunmoo Missile II. In April, the US sent its Carl Vinson aircraft carrier towards the Korean Peninsula, saying it was taking prudent measures against the North.

ICBM threat and North Korea's overall military strength Testing the boundaries Ignoring international condemnation, Pyongyang test-launched another rocket on July 28, 2017, just weeks after its first ICBM test. In both of the tests, North Korea used Hwasong-14 missile, but the second one reached a higher altitude and traveled a larger distance than the first one, according to the state media.

ICBM threat and North Korea's overall military strength Whole of US within range? Pyongyang conducted its third test November 29, using a newly developed Hwasong-15 missile. US, Japanese and South Korean officials said it rose to about 4,500 km (2,800 miles) and flew 960 kilometers (600 miles) over about 50 minutes before landing in Japan's exclusive economic zone off the country's coast.

ICBM threat and North Korea's overall military strength One of the world's largest militaries Apart from a developing missile and nuclear program, North Korea has a powerful army with 700,000 active troops and another 4.5 million in the reserves. It can call upon almost a quarter of its population to serve in the army at any given time. The North's bloated army is believed to outnumber its southern neighbor's by two-to-one.

ICBM threat and North Korea's overall military strength Vast capabilities According to the 2017 Global Firepower Index, the North has, as part of a far-reaching arsenal, 458 fighter aircraft, 5,025 combat tanks, 76 submarines, and 5,200,000 total military personnel. The picture above from 2013 shows leader Kim Jong Un ordering strategic rocket forces to be on standby to strike US and South Korean targets at any time.

ICBM threat and North Korea's overall military strength Enemies all around Alongside the United States, Pyongyang views its neighbors South Korea and Japan as its two other main enemies. North Korea has used US military exercises in the region as means of galvanizing its people, claiming that the exercises are dress rehearsals for an impending invasion.

ICBM threat and North Korea's overall military strength Huge, colorful demonstrations of military might Every year, hundreds of thousands of soldiers and citizens roll through the streets of the capital Pyongyang to take part in the North's military parades. Preparations for the rallies often begin months in advance, and the parades usually mark important anniversaries linked with the Communist Party or Kim Jong Un's family.



Blanket denial

Kim Myong Chol, a Korean writer and editor based in Japan, angrily denies all the accusations, answering "not true" when asked about the purchase of banned technology, the transfer of funds to North Korea, Chongryon's involvement in the abduction of Japanese nationals or the suggestion that North Korean children are being trained to embrace the violent overthrow of Pyongyang's enemies.

"Total nonsense," he concludes.

Kato says he has never seen the geopolitical tensions in East Asia become so serious.

"I overheard some young children the other day discussing where they planned to hide when a missile struck," he said. "It is a tragedy that they even have to think these things."

But there is a bitter irony in North Korean residents' unquestioning support for the regime in Pyongyang, he pointed out.

"For years, they have been smuggling technology to the North and sending money back to fund the development of its nuclear weapons and ballistic missile programs, but the missiles they have paid to build will not make any distinctions if they fall on a Japanese city," he said. "They will kill North Koreans just as easily as the rest of us."