US to install radar in Palau to monitor N.Korean missile threat

WASHINGTON - 24 August 2017: The United States has announced plans to install radar systems in Palau, a move that will increase its monitoring ability in the western Pacific region recently rocked by threats from North Korea, The Daily Mail reported.

In a joint statement, the US Defense Department and the Palau government said they were working to finalize the location of radar towers on the archipelago nation of 22,000 people.

"The radar systems will provide Palau enhanced maritime law enforcement capability... while also providing the US with greater air domain awareness for aviation safety and security," they said in the statement dated August 21.

While Palau is an independent nation, it has no military and the US is responsible for its defense under an agreement with Washington.

Under the deal, the US military has access to the islands, although it currently has no troops stationed there.

Palau is about 1,300 km south-west of Guam, the US Pacific territory that Pyongyang threatened to fire missiles towards earlier this month, sparking rhetoric of "fire and fury" from US President Donald Trump.

The statement said the US proposed the radar installation on July 18, before the recent crisis with North Korea erupted.