Japan's Self-Defense Force and the US military in Japan on Thursday agreed to work closely to deal with the anticipated launch of a long-range ballistic missile by North Korea.   

Tension escalates on Korean Peninsula

 Lt. Gen. Salvatore Angelella, commander of the U.S. forces in Japan, visited the Japanese Defense Ministry to meet with Gen. Shigeru Iwasaki, SDF chief of staff. The two  agreed to cooperate closely as they did in April when Pyongyang’s missile launch failed. On the same day, Admiral Samuel Locklear commander of U.S. forces in the Pacific, said Pyongyang just wants to show off its missile capability to the world. He said the U.S. is moving warships to track North Korea’s rocket and that a number of ships equipped with advanced ballistic missile systems are being relocated to track the rocket.