Japan deploys missile defense
TOKYO — Japan deployed its Patriot missile defense system yesterday after North Korea threatened to fire ballistic missiles over the country towards the US Pacific territory of Guam, local officials and reports told AFP.
Regional tensions are mounting as Washington and Pyongyang ratchet up their war of words, with President Donald Trump warning Pyongyang would "truly regret" any hostile action against the US.
Japan has in the past vowed to shoot down North Korean missiles or rockets that threaten to hit its territory.
The defense ministry deployed the Patriot Advanced Capability-3 (PAC-3) system in Shimane, Hiroshima and Kochi in western Japan, which North Korea had warned could be along its missiles' flight path, public broadcaster NHK and Kyodo News said.
It also deployed the antimissile system in neighboring Ehime, according to the reports, while the Asahi Shimbun said one maritime Self-Defense Force Aegis destroyer was stationed in the Sea of Japan (East Sea) to shoot down airborne missiles.
Television footage showed military vehicles carrying launchers and other equipment for the surface-toair system entering a Japanese base in Kochi before dawn.
"While standing by 24 hours in preparation for a launch, we are calling on our residents to be on alert in case we issue emergency information," Makoto Ebuchi added.
Yoshihide Suga, Japan's chief government spokesman, said earlier this week that Tokyo "can never tolerate" provocations from North Korea and the country's military, will "take necessary measures" to protect itself.
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe also renewed his pledge yesterday morning to prevent any accidents related to the North's warned launch. "I will do my best to secure our people's lives and property," Abe said without elaboration.
On Friday, President Donald Trump urged North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un not to take any action against the US, its territories including Guam or its allies, warning he would regret such a move---and "regret it fast."
In an Associated Press report, China President Xi Jinping, in a call with Trump, said all sides should avoid rhetoric or action that would worsen tensions on the Korean Peninsula, Chinese state media said yesterday —