Missile defense

Can the US Defend Against a North Korean ICBM?

When North Korean leader Kim Jong-un said in a New Year’s address that his country was on the verge of testing a missile that could one day reach the United States, Washington retorted that it was ready to stop it.

Defense Secretary Ash Carter, appearing on “Meet the Press” a week after Kim vowed to test an intercontinental ballistic missile at “anytime,” said the United States would shoot down any missile traveling toward its territory or the territory of its allies. Two days later, in his last briefing before President-elect Donald Trump takes office, Carter softened his stance slightly: if not considered “threatening,” such a missile might be allowed fly its course for intelligence-gathering purposes.