TOKYO - Japan and the United States will work closely to develop a joint missile defense shield against the threat posed by North Korea, the top US commander in the Pacific said on Wednesday.Adm. William Fallon of the Hawaii-based US Pacific Command also said during a meeting in Tokyo with JapanÂ’s foreign minister that the allies should continue bolstering defense cooperation, according to ministry official Hiroyuki Mase. Fallon was responding to Foreign Minister Taro AsoÂ’s request that the two countries cooperate further in response to North KoreaÂ’s missile tests last month, Mase said.
Washington and Tokyo have been working to jointly develop a missile defense system, and last month agreed to expand cooperation on a joint ballistic missile defense shield, committing themselves to joint production of interceptor missiles. The two allies have also agreed to deploy advanced Patriot interceptor missiles on American bases in Japan for the first time.