U.S. tells Japan of 2-yr delay in development of missile interceptor

The United States has notified Japan that a new type of ship-based missile interceptor being jointly developed by the two countries will be delayed by about two years because of the need for further testing of its warheads, sources close to bilateral ties said Friday.

The delay is expected to put off by several years the planned deployment in 2020 of the Block 2A type of the sea-based Standard Missile-3 interceptor on Japan's Maritime Self-Defense Force destroyers, the sources said.

Tokyo decided to engage in joint research with Washington on missile defense in 1998 after North Korea fired a ballistic missile over the Japanese archipelago that year.

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