Amid North Korea nuclear talks, U.S. shows off missiles in Japan

(AP) As diplomats tried to persuade North Korea to give up nuclear weapons, the U.S. military on Friday showed off one of its main deterrents _ a newly operational detachment of state-of-the-art Patriot missiles.

The deployment is part of a multibillion-dollar effort to build a ballistic missile shield in the Pacific to counter the threat from North Korea, which shocked the region last year with a series of missile tests followed by its first nuclear test.

"It's a fantastic capability," said Lt. Col. Matthew Michaelson, commander of the 600-troop missile battalion stationed at this U.S. air base on Japan's Okinawa island. He added that the missiles _ the exact number remains classified _ have been operational since late December.

"If called on to act, I could act today," he said.

Officials from the Koreas, the United States, Japan, Russia and China are meeting in Beijing in the latest round of talks aimed at persuading Pyongyang to abandon its nuclear ambitions in return for energy and economic assistance.

Previous rounds of the six-nation talks have broken down over the North's counterclaims that it is gravely threatened by the U.S. military presence in the region, and over financial sanctions Washington has imposed on the North for alleged money-laundering.

North Korea has also protested Japan's buildup of its own military and its launching of several spy satellites in recent years.

Japan is increasing its own missile capabilities around its cities and is set to launch another spy satellite on Feb. 15.

The newest Patriot missiles cover only a 60-mile radius, meaning that they would be unable to protect the heavily populated Tokyo or Osaka areas unless moved there. But at their present location, they could cover any threat to Okinawa, where most of the 50,000 American troops in Japan are based.

"Defending Kadena is defending Japan," said Lt. Gen. Bruce Wright, the senior U.S. military leader in Japan. "All of our military capabilities work together to provide a credible security posture."

Wright, speaking to a small group of reporters earlier this week, also stressed that U.S. defenses such as the PAC-3 deployment at the Kadena Air Base are not aimed at only one potential threat.

But he noted that North Korea is of particular concern.

"North Korea has been unpredictable, if not dangerous, for many years," he said.