https://www.channelnewsasia.com/new...-developing-warheads-missile-defence-11845624
Asia Japan says North Korea developing warheads to penetrate missile defences
Japan approved the installation of two Aegis Ashore missile defence systems to defend the country against North Korea's growing nuclear and missile threats (Photo: AFP/Daniel Mihailescu)
27 Aug 2019 03:49PM (Updated: 27 Aug 2019 04:00PM)
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TOKYO: Pyongyang appears to be developing warheads to penetrate a ballistic missile shield defending Japan, the country's defence chief said on Tuesday (Aug 27), pointing to the irregular trajectories of the latest missiles launched by North Korea.
Defence minister Takeshi Iwaya told a news conference that Japan believes the rockets were a new short-range ballistic missile, according to a ministry spokesman who confirmed his comments carried by domestic media.
Recent short-range missile tests by Pyongyang have stoked alarm in neighbouring Japan even as US President Donald Trump has dismissed the launches as unimportant.
READ: North Korea launches short-range missiles again, complicating US attempts for talks
READ: Japan says South Korea fails to grasp North Korea threat with scrapping of pact
Saturday's test firings came a day after Seoul said it was ending a military intelligence-sharing pact with Tokyo, amid a worsening spat over wartime forced labour.
Iwaya and other Japanese officials called Seoul's decision "irrational" as the threat posed by North Korea grows.
Japan and the United States have Aegis destroyers deployed in the Sea of Japan armed with interceptor missiles designed to destroy warheads in space. Japan also plans to build two land-based Aegis batteries to bolster its ballistic missile shield.
Those defence systems, however, are designed to counter projectiles on regular and therefore, predictable, trajectories, and any variation in flight path would make interception trickier.
Detailed analysis of the latest North Korean launches was underway with the United States, an official of South Korea's defence ministry said on Tuesday.
Source: Reuters/nh
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Asia Japan says North Korea developing warheads to penetrate missile defences
Japan approved the installation of two Aegis Ashore missile defence systems to defend the country against North Korea's growing nuclear and missile threats (Photo: AFP/Daniel Mihailescu)
27 Aug 2019 03:49PM (Updated: 27 Aug 2019 04:00PM)
Share this content
Bookmark
TOKYO: Pyongyang appears to be developing warheads to penetrate a ballistic missile shield defending Japan, the country's defence chief said on Tuesday (Aug 27), pointing to the irregular trajectories of the latest missiles launched by North Korea.
Defence minister Takeshi Iwaya told a news conference that Japan believes the rockets were a new short-range ballistic missile, according to a ministry spokesman who confirmed his comments carried by domestic media.
Recent short-range missile tests by Pyongyang have stoked alarm in neighbouring Japan even as US President Donald Trump has dismissed the launches as unimportant.
READ: North Korea launches short-range missiles again, complicating US attempts for talks
READ: Japan says South Korea fails to grasp North Korea threat with scrapping of pact
Saturday's test firings came a day after Seoul said it was ending a military intelligence-sharing pact with Tokyo, amid a worsening spat over wartime forced labour.
Iwaya and other Japanese officials called Seoul's decision "irrational" as the threat posed by North Korea grows.
Japan and the United States have Aegis destroyers deployed in the Sea of Japan armed with interceptor missiles designed to destroy warheads in space. Japan also plans to build two land-based Aegis batteries to bolster its ballistic missile shield.
Those defence systems, however, are designed to counter projectiles on regular and therefore, predictable, trajectories, and any variation in flight path would make interception trickier.
Detailed analysis of the latest North Korean launches was underway with the United States, an official of South Korea's defence ministry said on Tuesday.
Source: Reuters/nh
Tagged Topics
