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Published on 30 May 2017
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un might want to take note of our next story.
The U.S. military says it has successfully shot down a mock ICBM for the first time, in the latest test of its missile defense shield.
The U.S. military says it has successfully shot down a mock ICBM for the first time, in the latest test of its missile defense shield.
It's considered to be a major milestone for one of the few, if not only, system designed to reliably protect the United States from a long-range missile attack.
Yu Joonhee reports.
An anti-missile interceptor raced to the sky towards its target, after being fired from an underground silo in Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, Tuesday afternoon local time.
Over the Pacific Ocean, the missile intercepted and destroyed a target vehicle designed to mimic the characteristics of an intercontinental ballistic missile.
This marks the first time the "Ground-based Midcourse Defense" System, as it is called, has shot down a simulated ICBM.
The system, which has cost more than 40 billion dollars in U.S. taxpayer funds so far, had not undergone a live-fire test in nearly three years prior to Tuesday.
The missile defense shield also has a spotty record, achieving only ten successful intercepts in 18 tries, after accounting for the latest test.
However, the program has taken on renewed significance in recent months, in the midst of North Korea's rapidly evolving nuclear and ballistic missile threats.
Pyongyang has already conducted nine missile tests so far in 2017, including three since President Moon Jae-in came into office in mid-May.
The North has made no secret of its intent, to develop a nuclear-tipped ICBM capable of reaching the U.S. mainland.
The Pentagon however, in the aftermath of Tuesday's successful intercept, says the U.S. now has a credible and capable means of defending itself from North Korea's missile threat.
The U.S. military current has 36 ground-based interceptors based in California and Alaska, but plans to deploy an additional eight for a total of 44, by the end of this year.
Yu Joonhee, Arirang News.
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