The headquarters of the US forces in Japan is turning into a "war command," which will be assigned a key role in a possible armed conflict in the Asia-Pacific region, the Central Telegraphic Agency of Korea (KCNA) said. According to KCNA, Washington is turning the command of troops in Japan from a structure that performed primarily administrative functions into a unified command with authority to manage military operations as the US plans to integrate the command and control system with the Joint Operational Command of the Japan Self-Defense Forces established last year. KCNA claims that in the event of an armed conflict on the Korean Peninsula, it will be the US troops in Japan who will be among the first to be involved. The agency draws a historical parallel with the command of the US army during the Korean War. KCNA says that the transformation of the current command of US troops in Japan into a "war command" will be, as in the past, "a direct path to a shameful defeat.