Japan plans to extend defense budget to ounter North Korean threat

NewsBharati    16-Dec-2017
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Tokyo, December 16: The more North Korea threat is becoming stronger and the situation is taking difficult turns, Japan is also trying to boost its defense as much as possible. The country has planned a record 5.19 trillion yen defence budget for the next fiscal year to strengthen its missile defense. This amount is approximately 70 billion yen (about $ 625 million) more than the last year.

The current defense budget of the country is 5.12 trillion yen for this fiscal year. If defense increases the budget for next fiscal year also, then it will mark the sixth year of increase. Most of the money will be allocated for protection of Japan from North Korean missile development and nuclear nukes.

Japan's defense minister Itsunori Onodera earlier said the country plans to purchase long-range cruise missiles, with a range of some 900km, from US firms. The extended budget will cover up the plan, if it is executed.

The Japanese government decided Friday to freeze the assets of 19 more North Korean companies as part of its unilateral sanctions. The sanction came in response to the North's repeated defiance of a U.N. ban on nuclear and ballistic missile tests. As per Japanese Foreign Ministry, the 19 firms deal in financial services, trade in coal and oil, shipping and the dispatch of workers overseas.