US, Japan working closely on defense measures: Top US military commander

“Tensions are high in the region - I know you are well aware of that - but we (Japan and the US) are working very closely… And even with tensions high, I believe personally there are also opportunities that come of that for greater cooperation, greater integration, interoperability,” Dempsey said during a meeting with Japanese officials including the country’s Defense Minister Itsunori Onodera in Tokyo on Friday.
 
For his part, Onodera expressed concern over North Korea's repeated threats, saying “There is tension now in Japan, particularly on the North Korean issue. There were repeated nuclear and missile tests, and this time there were also threatening statements on a missile launch.”
 
This comes after North Korea vowed to launch a strike on Japan if it continued with its "hostile posture" against Pyongyang.
 
The Korean Peninsula has been locked in a cycle of escalating military rhetoric following the participation of nuclear-capable US B-52 and B-2 stealth bombers in the joint drills with South Korea.
 
Pyongyang has said its military should be prepared to attack “all US military bases in the Asia-Pacific region, including the US mainland, Hawaii, and Guam.”
 
On April 15, US Secretary of State John Kerry said that Washington was open to talks with North Korea if Pyongyang takes “meaningful steps” to honor its international commitments.
 
North Korea has described Washington’s willingness for dialogue with Pyongyang as an attempt to unilaterally disarm North Korea, saying it will not give up its nuclear program until the entire world is denuclearized.
 
North Korea has called on the United States and South Korea to immediately halt their military drills while demanding the withdrawal of UN sanctions as conditions for dialogue to defuse the tensions.