Japan will consider accelerating upgrades to its ballistic missile defense system in cooperation with the United States given threats from recent North Korean missiles launched with a higher trajectory and falling faster toward their targets, a Japanese government source said Sunday.

Possible introduction of a land-based Aegis missile defense system known as Aegis Ashore will be the main topic of a Japan-U.S. foreign and defense ministers' meeting to be held in Washington next month, the source said.

missile defense (Getty)

(Getty)

The Defense Ministry will request a budget for the next fiscal year from April 2018 necessary to prepare for Aegis Ashore deployment, according to the source.

The current fleet of Maritime Self-Defense Force ships equipped with the Aegis missile defense system may not be enough to shield the country's entire territory against North Korean ballistic missiles if they are launched with a higher trajectory to make them fall faster and at a steeper angle, the source said.

Japan now has six Aegis-equipped destroyers, with four of them capable of intercepting ballistic missiles. The government is upgrading the remaining two destroyers to give them ballistic missile defense capabilities and plans to deploy two new ones.

While the current Aegis system uses SM-3 missiles, Tokyo and Washington are jointly developing SM-3 Block 2A missiles with enhanced defensive coverage and accuracy.

A North Korean missile launched on May 14, believed to be a new medium-range type, traveled some 800 kilometers and fell in the Sea of Japan after reaching an altitude of over 2,000 km, according to the Defense Ministry.

missile defense (Maritime Self-Defense Force)

(Maritime Self-Defense Force)