North Korea condemned an agreement between the US and Japan to co-produce an advanced air-to-air missile, saying it increases instability in the Asia-Pacific region, state media reported.

Vowing to bolster its "powerful deterrence” against such a threat, the country’s Defense Ministry issued the statement Wednesday after the US and Japan announced Sunday the early launch of a co-production project for the AIM-120 advanced medium-range air-to-air missile during US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth's visit to Japan.

The ministry said AIM-120 will be another "co-produced weapon" of the US-Japan military alliance, noting their military ties are turning "offensive and aggressive from A to Z," according to the state-run Korean Central News Agency.

"Their cooperation in the field of munitions industry is being accelerated in direct proportion to it. It is not a secret that such moves are aimed at militarily deterring the regional countries," the ministry said in a statement.

Pyongyang warned that it will actively respond to the unstable security environment created by its enemies by bolstering its "powerful deterrence" to ensure enemy countries give up their military ambitions.

North Korea recently blasted Japan's moves to enhance its military capabilities, including its launch last week of a new military command aimed at better integrating its self-defense force units.

It also slammed Japan's proposed plan for deploying long-range missiles on its southwestern island of Kyushu.