Posted on 02/17/2003 1:41:07 AM PST by HAL9000
TOKYO, Feb 17 (AFP) - Japan and the United States have decided to conduct joint tests on intercepting ballistic missiles in Hawaii as fears grew that North Korea may resume its own missile test-firing, a report said Monday.
The joint trials would go on for two years starting from April 2004, with Japan shouldering 20 billion yen (167 million dollars) of the cost, the Nihon Keizai Shimbun said without naming sources.
The government's defence agency plans to hold talks with the finance ministry shortly to get approval, the economic daily said.
The upcoming tests would include missile interception both from the ground and destroyers equipped with the state-of-the-art Aegis guided missile weapons system at sea, the paper said.
While remaining cautious over a controversial US missile shield development programme, Tokyo has engaged in a joint research with Washington on a separate Ballistic Missile Defence system since 1999.
Tokyo and Washington plan to decide whether to move to full-scale development and deployment of the interception system after completing the Hawaii trials by fiscal 2005, the Nihon Keizai said.
A defence agency spokesman would not confirm the report.
Military affairs expert Tadashi Kumagai said concern over North Korea's missile ambitions "must be a major reason" for the reported joint action, which he said was a step forward for realising the defence scheme.
In a historic summit with Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi last September, North Korean leader Kim Jong-Il pledged to extend the moratorium beyond its original expiry date of 2003.
But experts have warned Pyongyang might resume missile tests after Washington cut off fuel shipments late last year over North Korea's secret nuclear weapons programme in breach of nuclear non-proliferation accords.
CIA chief George Tenet said last week North Korea already had the capacity to target the US west coast with a nuclear capable missile.
The White House quickly dismissed Tenet's remarks in a congressional hearing as "old news," apparently keen to head off critics of its approach to the nuclear crisis with the Stalinist state.
Kumagai, who used to work as a researcher at the National Institute for Defence Studies, said the United States had to do something against North Korean threats.
"Public opinion there would not let the administration stay put ... while the striking range of North Korean missiles is becoming greater and greater," he said.
Last Thursday Pyongyang warned it could strike US targets anywhere in the world. There are 47,000 US troops stationed in Japan.
According to South Korean defence ministry data, North Korea is currently testing Taepodong-1 missiles with a range of 2,500 kilometers (1,550 miles) and is also developing longer-range Taepodong-2 missiles.
Pyongyang shocked the world in August 1998 when it test-fired a suspected Taepodong-1 missile, part of which flew over Japan's main island of Honshu and into the Pacific.
The incident prompted Japan to go ahead with studying a missile interception scheme with the United States in 1999.
Japan earmarked 1.9 billion yen for joint research on the scheme in fiscal 2002 ending in March 2003, bringing total outlays for the five years to some 15 billion yen, according to the defence agency.
North Korea is believed to have deployed 100 Rodong-1 missiles with a range of 1,300 kilometers (805 miles).
The reported tests could trigger debate on whether the scheme would violate Japan's post-war constitution that bans the nation from resorting to arms in resolving international disputes.
Hell, they pay nearly 20% of the UNs bills.
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