Korea - U.S. to conduct missile-interception drills in May: ARIRANG NEWS

ARIRANG NEWS

Published on 19 Apr 2017

미: 다음달 미사일 요격 훈련, 매티스: 미중 협력 중

The Pentagon will conduct a series of tests next month to check up on its own defenses against a possible North Korean missile attack.

U.S. officials also say they're working with China to seek non-military alternatives to de-escalate tensions in the region. 

Kim Jung-soo has the details. 

The U.S. will conduct two missile-interception drills next month to test its defenses against missiles launched from North Korea.

U.S. media reports say that in the first test, a Standard Missile will be fired from an American ship stationed in the Pacific.

The missile was developed in collaboration with Japan, and will test the U.S. military's ability to counter a possible North Korean medium-range missile aimed at America's allies in the Pacific, mainly Japan and South Korea.

The second test, which will reportedly take place near the end of May, imagines that North Korea has launched an intercontinental ballistic missile toward the U.S. mainland.

During the simulation, long-range ground-based interceptor missiles will be launched from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California to counter the attack.

However, while the missile defense system has been in existence for about a decade, it only has a 50 percent success rate in previous weapons tests.

Meanwhile, the U.S. defense department has emphasized its willingness to engage in non-military interventionist strategies against North Korea's belligerent rhetoric. 

Defense Secretary James Mattis, who is currently on a tour of the Middle East, told reporters on Tuesday that the U.S. is working with China to bring about the eventual denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula, as it has done since the summit between President Donald Trump and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jin-ping on April 8th.

Mattis also commented briefly on North Korea's latest failed missile test on April 16th, saying that the missile, which blew up almost immediately after launch, was not an intercontinental ballistic missile capable of reaching the U.S. mainland.