Japan shoots down dummy ballistic missile in test

A U.S. soldier stands next to the launcher of a Patriot Advanced Capability-3 (PAC-3) system in a file photo.

TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan's military successfully shot down a dummy ballistic missile in a joint test with the United States, the Defense Ministry said on Thursday, days after reports that North Korea had tested new missile engines.

The joint test was the latest step in Tokyo's missile Defense strategy launched after North Korea shocked Japan in 1998 by firing a ballistic missile over the country into the Pacific Ocean.

The Japanese air force shot down the dummy missile using Patriot Advanced Capability-3 (PAC-3) interceptors in a ground-to-air test at White Sands, New Mexico, on Wednesday, the Defense Ministry said in a statement.

Japan is the only country apart from the United States to have tested a launch of Raytheon's and Lockheed Martin's PAC-3 system, the main components of which Japanese firm Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd produces under license, the ministry said.

Tokyo's fears over its unpredictable North Korean neighbor have resurfaced in recent weeks after reports that leader Kim Jong-il has suffered a stroke.

North Korea conducted an engine ignition test for a long-range missile at a new launch base near its west coast, a South Korean newspaper said on Tuesday, citing a South Korean intelligence source.

Japan first introduced its own PAC-3 interceptors, which are designed to hit missiles in the downward phase of flight, at Iruma airbase north of Tokyo last year.

It has also put SM-3 missiles aboard warships that are capable of shooting down ballistic missiles in the mid-stage of flight when they are in space.

A Japanese navy destroyer successfully shot down a dummy missile 160 km (100 miles) above the Pacific in another joint test with the United States in December.

(Reporting by Isabel Reynolds; Editing by Rodney Joyce)