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The US missile defense system was put to its first real test Tuesday and Wednesday with North Korea's launch of a long-range missile and a half dozen shorter range missiles. US Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said he was on and off the phone with top US commanders almost continuously for days before the missile tests. "I received the notification of the launch of these missiles probably within of a minute of when they occurred," he told reporters before a meeting with Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili. Pentagon officials were circumspect, though, about how the multi-billion dollar missile defense system performed. "What...

By Donna Miles American Forces Press Service WASHINGTON, July 5, 2006 – U.S. Northern Command detected "each and every" North Korean missile launch and had interceptors operational and ready to respond if needed, a senior defense official told Pentagon reporters today. NORTHCOM and North American Aerospace Defense Command officials quickly recognized that the seven ballistic missiles fired yesterday and early today did not pose a threat to the United States or its territories, Bryan Whitman, deputy assistant secretary of defense for public affairs, said today. North Korea fired a long-range Taepodong-2 missile and six short- and medium-range Scud and Nodong...

The Pentagon activated its new U.S. ground-based interceptor missile defense system, Bill Gertz reports in Tuesday's WASHINGTON TIMES, just as officials announced that any long-range missile launch by North Korea would be considered a "provocative act." Poor weather conditions above where the missile site was located by U.S. intelligence satellites indicates that an immediate launch is unlikely, said officials who spoke on the condition of anonymity. However, intelligence officials said preparations have advanced to the point where a launch could take place within several days to a month. Two Navy Aegis warships are patrolling near North Korea as part of...