Overshadowed by the war in Iraq in recent years, the US missile defence program is taking on renewed urgency as North Korea moves into a new era of unrestrained testing of nuclear weapons and the missiles to deliver them.
With allies such as Japan and South Korea under the gun, some analysts believe the Defence Department will move more aggressively to develop systems that can be deployed closer to North Korea.
Among the programs that may now get more attention is the Kinetic Energy Interceptor and the Airborne Laser program, as well as an ongoing effort to upgrade more US warships for a missile defence role, he said.
The North Korean threat may also reopen debate in the US on the development of space-based weapons, says James Carafano, a military analyst at the Heritage Foundation.
Uncertain threat
Pentagon and intelligence officials said it was too soon to tell whether the North Korean test, which had a smaller yield than expected, was successful or even that it was a nuclear explosion.
The catastrophic failure of a North Korean long-range missile test in July indicates that there is still time before the US is faced with a direct threat to its territory, according to senior US military officials.
But in other flight tests the same day, North Korea's short- and medium-range missiles showed improved accuracy, officials said, which puts at greater risk Japan, South Korea, and the US forces deployed in the region.
The Pentagon has moved to counter the regional threat by equipping more Aegis warships with upgraded radars and faster interceptor missiles capable of taking out small and medium-range missiles.
Meanwhile Japan also has agreed to the deployment of ground-based PAC-3 missile defence systems in Okinawa, where some 20,000 US troops are based.
But analysts say that development of more advanced "boost phase" missile defences capable of defending both the United States and its allies has been slow.
A system of ground-based interceptor missiles in Alaska and California has taken precedence, cutting into funding for newer concepts like the Kinetic Energy Interceptor, said Thompson.
The KEI is being designed to have the speed to knock down missiles shortly after launch as they are boosting into space. In theory, they could be moved to ground bases within a region or fired from the deck of a warship.
The Airborne Laser, on the other hand, is years behind schedule and must overcome daunting technological hurdles to effectively target a missile in flight.