MOSCOW (Sputnik) — The missile will be launched from the Vandenberg Air Force base and it is not related to the escalated tensions on the Korean peninsula as the launch was planned a year earlier, a spokeswoman for the US Air Force Global Strike Command said, the Washington Examiner newspaper reported.
“These Minuteman launches are essential to verify the status of our national nuclear force and to demonstrate our national nuclear capabilities," US Col. John Moss, the 30th Space Wing commander responsible for the Wednesday’s launch of the missile said, as quoted by the newspaper.
The international community has condemned the moves of Pyongyang and the United States has even sent a naval group led by the aircraft carrier to the region. Following media reports that Washington could approve a military strike against Pyongyang if North Korea carries out yet another nuclear weapon test, the North Korean authorities warned that they were ready to respond to the US actions.
