Stars and Stripes – The U.S. State Department has approved more than $600 million in air-defense missile sales to South Korea and Japan, according to the Defense Security Cooperation Agency.
The approvals were announced in statements by the agency May 17 following a pair of missile tests by North Korea a week earlier. Efforts by the United States and North Korea to denuclearize the Korean Peninsula have moved slowly despite two summit meetings between President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un since 2018.
“The Government of Japan has requested to buy one hundred sixty (160) AIM-120C-7 Advanced Medium Range Air-to-Air Missiles (AMRAAM), and one (1) AIM-120C-7 AMRAAM guidance section,” the Defense Security Cooperation Agency said in a statement.
The cost, including various support services, is estimated at $317 million, the agency said.
