Japan, US agree on new radar system to counter N Korea threat

Japanese Defense Minister Satoshi Morimoto and US Defense Secretary Leon Panetta agreed on Monday to deploy a second missile defense radar system on Japanese territory aimed at protecting the country from the threat from North Korea. "The purpose of this (radar) is to enhance our ability to defend Japan," Panetta said at a joint news conference here with Morimoto after their talks. "It's also designed to help forward-deployed US forces, and it also will be effective in protecting the US homeland from the North Korean ballistic missile threat," said Panetta, stressing that the radar system is not directed at China. Morimoto said the two countries have not decided where exactly the new system would be installed. In April, North Korea launched a long-range rocket. Though the rocket fizzled soon after takeoff, the launch drew strong international condemnation as it violated a UN Security Council resolution. Panetta's visit to Tokyo comes as the dispute between Japan and China escalates over islands in the East China Sea, with tensions reaching a new high after the Japanese government, last week, bought three of the disputed islands from a private Japanese owner. Both countries claim the small chain of uninhabited rocky islands, known as Senkaku Islands in Japan and Diaoyu in China, which lie in rich fishing grounds and waters thought to contain large deposits of oil and natural gas. Anti-Japan protests erupted in about 85 Chinese cities over the weekend, with some of cases turning into riots. Panetta urged the two countries to use diplomacy to resolve their territorial dispute, adding that Washington does not take a side in the issue but will stand by its treaty obligations. Panetta will fly to China later in the day.