A friend in need is a friend in deed, kiddies.

AP: Missile threat strengthens U.S.- Japan ties

TOKYO - Many Japanese in the aftermath of the Cold War seriously questioned their country's security alliance with the United States. A decade later, those voices are a lot softer, and one nation deserves much of the credit: North Korea.

The fears this week that the mercurial communist regime is preparing for its first test of a long-range missile since 1998 have again illustrated one of the premier rationales for Tokyo's enduring partnership with Washington.
Military ties between the two are already tight.

Japan is firmly under the U.S. nuclear umbrella, and Washington bases some 50,000 troops on Japanese soil and waters. The two are progressively melding their militaries for greater cooperation.

On Friday, Japan and Washington agreed to expand their cooperation on a ballistic missile defense shield. The agreement, signed by Foreign Minister Taro Aso and U.S. Ambassador Thomas Schieffer, commits the two countries to jointly produce interceptor missiles, Japan's Foreign Ministry said.

The threatening stance by Pyongyang is likely to strengthen the trend, both by legitimizing the heavy U.S. military presence in East Asia and fueling Japan's recent moves to bolster its own defense posture.