Tokyo and Washington are mulling the installation of an X-band radar system at an Air Self-Defense Force base in Kyoto Prefecture to build up Japan's missile defense system and counter the North Korean ballistic missile threat, sources close to bilateral ties revealed Saturday.

The Kyogamisaki base in Kyotango, on the Sea of Japan coast, has been selected as the best site to deploy the radar unit because a North Korean missile targeting Guam or Hawaii, strategically key strongholds for the U.S. military, would likely pass over western or central Japan, the sources said.

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and U.S. President Barack Obama confirmed during their summit meeting in Washington on Friday that they will work together on installing the large-scale American radar system at the Kyogamisaki facility.