09 July, 2017
Donald Trump plans to carry out a new test of the US Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) missile defence system within days, it has been revealed.
Reuters confirmed that the test would take place in early July through the U.S. Missile Defense Agency (MDA), who said, the Kodiak site will detect and track, then engage the target with a THAAD interceptor.
As per reports, the test is not linked to North Korea's intercontinental ballistic missile launch, adding that the THAAD's system is created to defend against those type of threats.
The test of the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense missile, created to shoot down medium and intermediate range missiles, has been planned for months, Reuters reported.
Ever since Kim Jong-un became Supreme Leader for North Korea, their involvement with nuclear missiles and tests in not hidden.
The test is designated as Flight Test THAAD (FTT)-18.
North Korea's missile launch saw their dreaded ICBM fly into the Sea of Japan, after being in the air for more than half an hour.
Haley added that if North Korea continues to be involved in these activities, it must be prepared to defend itself and its allies.
The U.S. military this year began deploying THAAD to South Korea, a move that infuriated China, which has argued the deployment would further destabilize the situation on the Korean peninsula.
Thaad's success rate in testing is far higher than the one for America's Ground-based Midcourse Defense system (GMD), the system specifically created to shoot down an ICBM headed for the USA mainland.
Earlier this month Moscow and Beijing, in a joint statement, called on Washington to immediately halt deployment of Thaad in South Korea.
The GMD system successfully shot down an incoming, simulated North Korean ICBM in a test in May.