13 Dec
The US Department of Defense says it has test-fired a ground-launched intermediate-range ballistic missile from a base in the western state of California.
The Pentagon made the announcement in a statement on Thursday.
This is the second time the US has test-launched such a missile. It held one trial in August. That was after the expiration earlier in the month of the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty, or INF.
The nuclear arms control treaty between the US and Russia banned the development of such missiles.
But the department said it would start developing intermediate-range missiles after the agreement expired to counter China and Russia.
nhk
