Article Posted on : - Apr 06, 2014

TOKYO (AP): The US will deploy two additional ballistic missile defence destroyers to Japan by 2017 as part of an effort to bolster protection from North Korean missile threats, Defence Secretary Chuck Hagel said Sunday.

Speaking to reporters after a meeting with Japan Defence Minister Itsunori Onodera, Hagel said their talks revolved around the threat posed by Pyongyang. He said the two ships are in response to North Korea's "pattern of provocative and destabilising actions, including missile launches" that violate UN resolutions.

Hagel said the ships also will provide more protection to the US from those threats.

The announcement came as tensions with North Korea spiked again, with Pyongyang continuing to threaten additional missile and nuclear tests. North and South Korea fired hundreds of artillery shells into each other's waters in late March in the most recent flare-up.

On Friday, North Korea accused the US of being "hell-bent on regime change" and warned that any manoeuvres with that intention will be viewed as a "red line" that will result in countermeasures. Pyongyang's deputy UN ambassador, Ri Tong Il, also said his government "made it very clear we will carry out a new form of nuclear test" but refused to provide details.

The two additional ships would bring the total to seven US ballistic missile defence warships in Japan, and it continues US efforts to increase its focus on the Asia Pacific.

Hagel is on a 10-day trip across the Asia Pacific, and just spent three days in Hawaii meeting with Southeast Asian defence ministers, talking about efforts to improve defence and humanitarian assistance cooperation. Japan is his second stop, where he said he wants to assure Japanese leaders that the US is strongly committed to protecting their country's security.

Japan and China have been engaged in a long, bitter dispute over remote islands in the East China Sea. The US has said it takes no side on the question of the disputed islands' sovereignty, but it recognises Japan's administration of them and has responsibilities to protect Japanese territory under a mutual defence treaty.

Hagel said the US wants the countries in the region to resolve the disputes peacefully. But he added that the United States would honour its treaty commitments.

Last October, the US and Japan agreed to broad plans to expand their defence alliance, including plans to position a second early warning radar there by the end of this year.

There is one in northern Japan and the second one would be designed to provide better missile defence coverage in the event of a North Korean attack.