Japan deploys a Patriot Advanced Capability-3 (PAC-3) missile defense system at a US military base in Tokyo as part of a previously scheduled drill, after North Korea’s launch of a missile over its territory.
Hiroaki Maehara, commander of the air self defense forces explained to the Japanese troops the importance of drills for a missile defense system.
“Practicing this kind of drill allows us to maintain our fast response system in the event of a ballistic missile launch and to strengthen the force of persuasion, not by our country but also by the US Japan alliance. I also think it’s important to display our country’s capacities and will to stabilize the region,” he said.
Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Tuesday said North Korea’s launch of a missile over its territory was an “unprecedented, serious and grave threat” as he called for an emergency UN Security Council meeting.
Abe vowed to enhance pressure on the nuclear-armed state as tensions spike over Pyongyang’s weapons development ambitions.
“Their outrageous act of firing a missile over our country is an unprecedented, serious and grave threat and greatly damages regional peace and security,” he told reporters in Tokyo.
“We have protested to North Korea.”
(Agence France Presse)