The United States is considering deploying its advanced Patriot missile defense system in the Tokyo area after North Korea's missile test-launches and nuclear test-detonation earlier this year, the Nihon Keizai newspaper reported Sunday.

Washington unofficially informed the Japanese government it is considering putting Patriot Advanced Capability 3 surface-to-air missile intercept weaponry around Yokota Air Base in Tokyo's western suburbs and around Yokosuka Naval Base, south of the capital, the Nihon Keizai reported without saying how it got the information.

The added defenses would cover critical US military installations on the outskirts of one of the world's biggest, most densely populated metropolitan areas.

The move would be part of a joint US-Japanese effort to deploy PAC-3 missile defense systems around the country as the two allies look for ways to counter what is seen as a growing threat from neighboring North Korea.