Two U.S. missile defense warships will be headed to Japan to counteract North Korea’s “provocative” actions, Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel said Sunday.

Hagel, citing Pyongyang’s “pattern of provocative and destabilizing actions,” said that two additional Aegis ballistic missile defense vessels would be headed to Japan by 2017.

Hagel, who specifically included the North’s missile launches on March 26 among its provocative acts, made the remarks following a joint news conference with Japanese Minister of Defense Itsunori Onodera. The two medium-range ballistic missiles the North test-fired in March would be capable of hitting Japan.

“These steps will greatly enhance our