US launches ballistic missile into Pacific ocean

WASHINGTON (AA) – The U.S. Air Force launched a ballistic missile test Thursday, the same day that North Korea was suspected of launching two missiles.

The Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile was launched from the Vandenberg Air Force Base in California above the Pacific Ocean. The Air Force Global Strike Command (AFGSC) said it traveled 4,200 miles, reaching the Kwajalein Atoll located in the Marshall Islands.

The command said it was the second missile launch in a little more than a week, and came just 10 minutes after Pyongyang reportedly launched two short-range ballistic missiles into the East Sea, or Sea of Japan.

The North Korean missile was also its second conducted in a week, with reports that short-range missiles were also fired Saturday.

North Korea was suspected of launching its first missile Thursday at 3.29 a.m. Eastern Standard Time (0729GMT), while the U.S. launched its missile at 3.40 a.m. (0740GMT).

The AFGSC said the launch is “not a response or reaction to world events or regional tensions.

“The test demonstrates the United States’ nuclear deterrent is modern, robust, flexible, ready and appropriately tailored to deter twenty-first century threats and reassure our allies,” it said in a press release. The Air Force said the launch was part of regularly scheduled tests of intercontinental ballistic missiles to ensure they are ready for potential combat.

These tests are conducted four or five times a year, with each launch planned out up to six months to a year in advance. North Korea’s missile launches further complicate stalled talks between Washington and Pyongyang, with both sides failing to reach an agreement on the denuclearization of the Korean peninsula.