U.S. officials watched North Korea prepare for the Tuesday launch of its first successful intercontinental ballistic missile, a well-placed senior U.S. official told Fox News – however, no anti-missile defense systems appear to have been activated to shoot down the rocket.
The U.S. had watched North Korea fueling the rocket prior to launch, the official said.
“Clearly we watch North Korea very closely,” Pentagon spokesman Capt. Jeff Davis said.
The missile fired on Tuesday is a new type of North Korean ICBM, which has yet to be named. It uses liquid fuel – meaning the rocket takes more time to move and is less mobile than a missile that operates on solid fuel.
Originally published by Fox News.