U.S., Japan Expand Missile Defense Plan

Japan and the United States agreed Friday to expand their cooperation on a ballistic missile defense shield, moving to protect themselves amid concerns that North Korea could test-fire a long-range missile.

The agreement, signed by Foreign Minister Taro Aso and U.S. Ambassador Thomas Schieffer, commits the two countries to jointly produce interceptor missiles, Japan's Foreign Ministry said.

Officials said the agreement had been previously negotiated and was not triggered by fears that North Korea is preparing to test a missile.

But the timing of the announcement underscored the determined cooperation between the United States and its top Asian ally to protect themselves against the threat of Pyongyang's missile program.

North Korea's 1998 test-firing of a missile over northern Japan was Tokyo's primary impetus for signing on to the idea of joint missile defense.

The agreement allows the transfer of ballistic missile defense technology from Japan to the United States, a touchy issue in Japan, which has long adhered to a self-imposed ban on arms exports in line with its pacifist constitution.

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