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U.S. Stages Successful Test of Defense Against Simulated ICBM

The Ground-based Midcourse Defense (GMD) element of the U.S. ballistic missile defense system launches during a flight test from Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif., U.S., May 30, 2017 / REUTERS
May 30, 2017

WASHINGTON (Reuters) — The U.S. military said on Tuesday it had staged a successful, first-ever missile defense test involving a simulated attack by an intercontinental ballistic missile, as concerns mount over North Korea's advancing missile and nuclear program.

"The intercept of a complex, threat-representative ICBM target is an incredible accomplishment ... a critical milestone for this program," Vice Admiral Jim Syring, the director of the Missile Defense Agency, said in a statement.

(Reporting by Phil Stewart; Editing by James Dalgleish)