The head of the US Missile Defense Agency, Vice Admiral James Syring, says technological advances demonstrated by North Korea in its ballistic missile program in the past six months cause him "great concern."
Syring told a hearing of the US House Armed Services Committee on Wednesday that it was incumbent on his agency to assume that North Korea today could "range" the United States with an intercontinental ballistic missile carrying a nuclear warhead.
"I would not say we are comfortably ahead of the threat; I would say we are addressing the threat that we know today," Syring said.
"The advancements in the last six months have caused great concern to me and others, in the advancement of and demonstration of technology of ballistic missiles from North Korea.
North Korea has conducted dozens of missile tests since the start of last year, as well as its fourth and fifth nuclear bomb tests.
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It has said it is working to develop a nuclear-tipped ICBM capable of reaching the US mainland, presenting US President Donald Trump with perhaps his most pressing security threat.
Missile experts say North Korea could soon test its first ICBM, but believe it will take until at least 2020 before it is capable of fielding an operational nuclear-tipped ICBM.
The testimony comes after a successful May test, which has seen the Pentagon upgraded its assessment of its ability to defend the United States against incoming intercontinental ballistic missiles, according to a Pentagon memo seen by Reuters on Wednesday.
Instead of saying the US military's ground-based interceptor program had a "limited" defence capability, the Pentagon now said it had a "demonstrated capability to defend the US homeland from a small number of intermediate-range or intercontinental missile threats with simple countermeasures".
