US tests nuclear-capable missile with the range to strike North Korea

[WhiteTara]

https://www.yahoo.com/news/us-tests-nuclear-capable-missile-113600375.html

The US has test-fired a nuclear-capable intercontinental ballistic missile from a site in California, the second such launch in a week, amid rising tensions with North Korea.

The unarmed Minuteman 3 missile has a range of around 8,000 miles, putting it within striking distance of Pyongyang.

It blasted off just after midnight from Vandenberg Air Force Base, 150 miles northwest of Los Angeles, and delivered a single projectile to a target approximately 4,200 miles away at Kwajalein Atoll in the Pacific Ocean, US Air Force Global Strike Command said.

snip

Colonel Chris Moss, Vandenberg’s 30th Space Wing commander, said of the first test launch that it was “an important demonstration of our nation's nuclear deterrent capabilities”.

"These Minuteman launches are essential to verify the status of our national nuclear force and to demonstrate our national nuclear capabilities”, he said.

[EX500rider]

1. The US has had ICBM's w/ a 9,000 mile range since the Atlas in 1959...

....although our closest ICBM base, Malmstrom AFB in Montana is only about 5,500 miles from Pyongyang, it's Minuteman III's have a approx. 8,100 mile range, with a CEP of about 200 meters. (CEP=Circular error probable)
And our Ohio missile boats could be a lot closer.