Japan is poised to boost its defense spending by another $6.8 billion (770 billion yen) to combat threats from North Korea and China, expanding its defense budget to its highest-ever amount.

Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s cabinet approved the increase on Friday, pushing the country’s annual defense spending to over $53.2 billion (6.1 trillion yen) for the first time and exceeding last year’s budget by over 15%.

“North Korea continues to fire ballistic missiles in violation of U.N. Security Council resolutions,” Kishida saidin a speech to Japan Ground Self-Defense Force personnel on Nov. 27, a day after the supplementary budget