The US government has approved the sale of anti-ballistic missiles to Japan to defend itself against a growing nuclear and missile threat from North Korea, a State Department official said. News of the sale comes as North and South Korea hold their first talks in more than two years aimed at solving the crisis over the North's nuclear missile programme.<br/><br/>The State Department asked Congress to approve the 133 million Dollars sale of the four missiles and related hardware, which can be launched from destroyers at sea or from a land-based system. <br/><br/>The sale of the anti-ballistic missiles, made by Raytheon Co and BAE Systems, follows through on President Trump's commitment to provide additional defensive capabilities to treaty allies threatened by North Korea's provocative behavior, the official said, using the initials for North Korea.<br/><br/>The missile deal follows a year of ramped-up North Korean missile launches, some of them over Japanese territory, and its sixth and most powerful nuclear test. These actions have prompted a stepped-up US-led campaign to toughen UN sanctions, which Pyongyang has called an act of war. <br/><br/>