US conducts THAAD anti-missile defence system test

WASHINGTON (92 News) - The United States conducted a test of the anti-missile defence system known as Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD), a platform that has been condemned by North Korea, an official video released on Saturday revealed. The video, released by the US Defense Department on Saturday (August 31) shows the THAAD successfully hitting its target, which Missile Defense Agency spokesman Mark Wright wrote was the 16th successful intercept by the THAAD weapon system in 16 attempts. The test was carried out by US Army soldiers at the Reagan test site in the Marshall Islands and comes weeks after North Korea fired a series of short-range missiles in protest against US-South Korea joint military exercises and the adoption of new weapons. North Korea has condemned the US anti-missile system. US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un met in June at the inter-Korean border and agreed to reopen working-level negotiations, but that has not yet happened.