U.S. Air Force successfully tests ICBM as tensions with North Korea escalate

An American ICBM test in May 2017.
(Image credit: RINGO CHIU/AFP/Getty Images)

The United States conducted a successful intercontinental ballistic missile test Wednesday, less than a week after North Korea's second ICBM test this year, Fox News reports. The Air Force said in a statement that the test was "not a response to recent North Korean action" and had been "long planned."

The American Minuteman III missile was unarmed and flew more than 4,000 miles from where it was launched at the Vandenberg Air Force Base in California to Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands, NBC News reports. It was the fourth U.S. ICBM test this year.

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Jeva Lange

Jeva Lange was the executive editor at TheWeek.com. She formerly served as The Week's deputy editor and culture critic. She is also a contributor to Screen Slate, and her writing has appeared in The New York Daily News, The Awl, Vice, and Gothamist, among other publications. Jeva lives in New York City. Follow her on Twitter.