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Related: US reaction over DPRK missile
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TOKYO, June 26 (Xinhua) -- Washington has recently
notified Tokyo that it will deploy Patriot Advanced Capability 3 (PAC-3)
missiles in Okinawa, southern Japan by the end of the year and Japan plans to
accept it, the Yomiuri Shimbun reported Monday, quoting government sources.
The surface-to-air PAC-3 missiles are to be deployed
at the Kadena Air Base or the U.S. Air Force's Kadena Ammunition Storage Area in
the Okinawa prefecture, to defend U.S. forces in Japan from possible threat of
missiles from the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), the report said.
The United States notified Japan about the deployment
plan on June 17 at a meeting in Hawaii about missile defense. Japan plans to
accept the deployment arrangement in principle, according to the sources.
The missiles, with an effective protective range of
tens of kilometers, will complement the Standard Missile 3 missiles installed on
Aegis-equipped ships.
Some additional 500 to 600 U.S. troops are expected
to be deployed along with three or four PAC-3 missile batteries, the paper said.
Japan's Self-Defense Forces will also deploy PAC-3 missiles at Iruma Air Base in Saitama prefecture by the end of fiscal 2006, and at Kasuga Base in Fukuoka, Gifu Base and Hamamatsu Base in Shizuoka prefecture by fiscal 2010. Enditem
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