Intercontinental ballistic missile

North Korea is readying the launch of a ballistic missile, military leaders in South Korea believe after launching rockets in live-fire drills in response to the test of a nuclear bomb at the weekend.

U.S. President Donald Trump says his country is prepared to defend itself and allies “using the full range of diplomatic, conventional, and nuclear capabilities” after North Korea’s test of what it called a hydrogen bomb capable of being loaded on a long-range missile.

North Korea said it detonated a hydrogen bomb designed for a long-range missile on Sept. 2 and called its sixth and most powerful nuclear test a "perfect success," sparking world condemnation and promises of tougher U.S. sanctions.

Pyongyang residents threw their arms aloft in triumph as a jubilant television newsreader hailed the "unprecedentedly large" blast.

North Korea declared itself a thermonuclear power on Sept. 3, after carrying out a sixth nuclear test more powerful than any it has previously detonated, presenting President Donald Trump with a potent challenge.
 
The North has tested a hydrogen bomb with "perfect success", a jubilant newsreader announced on state television, adding the device could be mounted on a missile.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has ordered the production of more solid-fuel rocket engines, state media said on Aug. 23, as he pursues nuclear and missile programs amid a standoff with Washington, but there were signs of tension easing.

North Korea’s dramatic leap forward in ballistic missile capability has its origins far beyond the Korean peninsula, experts believe: in Russian technology that may have been acquired from a factory near Ukraine’s restive east, although the timing for any transfers is not clear.

North Korea's second intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) test on July 28, three weeks after its first test on July 4, raised tensions in the Asia-Pacific and strained relations between China and the United States.

The U.S. Air Force successfully launched an unarmed intercontinental ballistic missile from California, the fourth such test this year.

The 30th Space Wing says the Minuteman 3 missile launched at 2:10 a.m. local time Wednesday from Vandenberg Air Force Base, about 130 miles northwest of Los Angeles.

U.S. President Donald Trump warned July 29 that he would not allow China to "do nothing" on North Korea, after the hermit state launched an intercontinental ballistic missile it boasted could reach the United States.

After North Korea shocked the world on July 4 by launching an intercontinental ballistic missile, the US has picked up the pace and urgency of ballistic missile defense despite major flaws in existing systems and tactics.

US plans in the event of a North Korean missile attack would center around spotting the launches early on and prepare to intercept them.