Pentagon officials cited recent developments in North Korea a long-range missile test, a nuclear test and demonstration of a mobile launcher that suggested the country's missile technology is advancing faster than earlier predicted.
WSJ: U.S. to Boost Missile Defenses in Response to North Korea
What we will be looking for is for them to honor that agreement by implementing a moratorium on long-range missile launches, nuclear tests and nuclear activities at Yongbyon, including uranium enrichment activities.
The fact that he ordered deep cuts in the US missile defense budget as North Korea tested a long-range missile and a nuclear bomb, and that he has maintained these cuts despite North Korea's announced plan to launch a missile against the US on July 4 has gone largely unreported.
The national security and commercial implications of this decision have been exacerbated, however, by two other, seemingly unrelated actions: President Obama's decision to stop producing long-range missile defense interceptors and to defer indefinitely any replacement of our aging nuclear-armed intercontinental ballistic missile force.
The new North Korean government publicly committed last month to placing a freeze on its nuclear and long-range missile programs in exchange for food aid from Washington.
The United States should preserve the survivability of its sea-based deterrent by retaining the largest possible number of ballistic missile submarines and by deploying long-range nuclear-armed cruise missiles among a large number of naval platforms.
The United States also claims, against strong Iranian denials, that Iran is seeking to develop nuclear weapons and long-range missile technology.
After the BDA affair, in July and October 2006 North Korea conducted intermediate and long-range missile tests and then a nuclear test.
India has successfully launched a long-range intercontinental ballistic missile able to carry a nuclear warhead, officials say.
Analysts say North Korea is years away from being able to accurately deliver a nuclear weapon atop a long-range missile.
Its successful satellite launch in December using long-range rocket technology and nuclear test have also triggered concerns that it is making progress in being able to mount a nuclear device on a long-range missile.
The US and North Korea's neighbours fear Pyongyang's ultimate goal is to put a nuclear warhead on a long-range missile that could target the west coast of the US, but it is not believed to have mastered the technology yet.
BBC: North Korea in nuclear warning after UN rocket resolution
Tensions have remained high following Pyongyang's launch of a long-range missile last December, followed by a nuclear test in February and repeated threats of war in recent months.
That is important because if the North is to field a nuclear weapon on the tip of a long-range missile, it must be lightweight.
Observers fear North Korea is working towards creating a nuclear device small enough to fit on a long-range missile.
North Korea is not believed to be capable of making a nuclear weapon small enough to fit on a long-range missile capable of hitting the United States.
Being on the terror list did not stop North Korea from its first nuclear test, in 2006, or from a long-range missile test that same year.
North Korea provoked Western condemnation earlier this month with an underground nuclear test that was preceded by the December launch of a long-range missile capable of transporting a warhead.
CNN: Dennis Rodman is North Korean leader's 'friend for life'
When on Sunday Obama responded to North Korea's launch of a long-range ballistic missile by announcing that he wishes to all but disarm the US of its nuclear arsenal, he was effectively arguing that US strength is to blame for North Korea's aggression.
There was, for instance, the launch of a long-range missile, the announcement of the resumption of plutonium production, the detonation of a nuclear device, the renunciation of the Korean War armistice and a noticeable step-up in cyber attacks against the United States and South Korea.
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