The Pentagon said Monday it was ready, willing and able to shoot down a North Korean intermediate range ballistic missile if it had posed a threat to the U.S. or its allies Japan or South Korea.
“We maintain abilities to be able to respond quickly and intercept missiles from North Korea if they do pose a threat to us or our allies,” said Navy Capt. Jeff Davis, a Pentagon spokesman.
The North Korean test was detected by U.S. Strategic Command just before 6 p.m. Eastern Time Saturday night.
The U.S. tracked the missile as it was launched from the northwest part of the country and traveled about 300 miles away from the eastern coast before falling harmlessly in the Sea of Japan.
The U.S. determined the missile would not reach Japan, but was ready to shoot it down if it looked like it might.
“We maintain abilities to be able to respond quickly and intercept missiles from North Korea if they do pose a threat to us or our allies,” Davis said.
This month, the U.S. and Japan conducted a first-of-its kind test in which a U.S. Navy Standard Missile fired from a ship destroyed a target missile in space off the coast of Hawaii.
The Pentagon would not say whether the North Korean test was a success, and experts noted that even “failed” tests can provide valuable data, and mark progress in the development of advanced weapons.
“North Korea’s unlawful weapons programs represent a clear, grave threat to our national security,” Davis said. “North Korea openly states that its missiles are intended to deliver nuclear weapons to strike cities in the United States, the Republic of Korea and Japan.”
The U.S. believes the North Korea missile was a land-based variant of a submarine-launched missile that has been tested previously.
The U.S. says a video of the launch, released by the North Korean government, shows the missile being fired from a mobile launcher, a capability that makes the missile harder to detect and destroy.
“It’s a motorized system that can erect a launcher and launch it with very little notice,” Davis said. “This is one of the concerns we’ve had. As they have developed the capability in the missile they have, they have also given them a road mobile capability, which allows it to hide and evade detection.”
