The World - News from Jan. 20, 1988

Defense Secretary Frank C. Carlucci and Tsutomu Kawara, visiting director general of the Japanese Defense Agency, agreed to pursue the joint development of conventional weapons, a Pentagon official said. The two defense officials endorsed an earlier agreement for the joint development of the FSX fighter, a variant of the F-16, and agreed to the principle of joint weapons development, the official said. The United States has had a general commitment for joint weapons development from its North Atlantic Treaty Organization allies, but there had been no agreement with Japan.