WASHINGTON -- The United States is delaying a long-planned missile test to avoid any misperceptions by North Korea amid mounting tensions, a senior U.S. Department of Defense official said Saturday.
Postponing the launch of the Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile, initially scheduled for Tuesday at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, was "prudent and wise," said the official, speaking on condition of anonymity.
The missile test had nothing to do with North Korea, but the United States decided to hold off "given recent tensions on the Korean Peninsula," the official said.
"The U.S. will conduct another test soon and remains strongly committed to our nuclear deterrence capabilities," said the official, who was not authorized to publicly release details of the launch. |