In a further development to countering North Korea’s missile threat, the US Pentagon has announced plans to test a missile intercept next week that would involve shooting down an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM). This will be the first test of its kind conducted by the US military.
U.S. military personnel plan to launch a custom-made missile from the Marshall Islands and aim to shoot it down in space by firing an interceptor missile from a base in California, reports Fox News.
The custom-made missile is meant to simulate an ICBM and will fly faster than missiles used in previous intercept tests, according to Christopher Johnson, spokesman for the Missile Defense Agency.
North Korea’s series of successful ballistic missile launches, most recently conducted on May 21, have become a destabilizing factor in the region. The tests threaten the security of US’ allies in the Asia.
According to analysts the tests have given North Korea critical information on developing a re-entry vehicle for nuclear warheads and showed Pyongyang had a missile capable of striking the U.S. territory of Guam.