The U.S. Defense Department will carry out a test to shoot down an intercontinental ballistic missile for the first time next week, a department official said Friday.

The move comes amid concern within the U.S. government that North Korea is accelerating development of its own ICBM that could strike the U.S. mainland.


(Department of Defense)

A ground-based interceptor will be launched from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California in Tuesday's test to shoot down a mock-up of an ICBM from Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands, the official of the Pentagon's Missile Defense Agency said.

The GBI system has a spotty track record, having succeeded in only nine of 17 attempts since 1999 including the most recent test in 2014.

It is more difficult to track an ICBM because of its faster cruising speed. A total of 36 interceptors are in place in Alaska and California at present but the U.S. government plans to boost the number to 44 by the end of the year.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said in a New Year's address that the country had entered the final stage of preparations to test an ICBM. Such missiles could potentially deliver nuclear warheads to targets on the U.S. mainland.

Lt. Gen. Vincent Stewart, head of the U.S. Defense Intelligence Agency, told a Senate hearing on Tuesday that North Korea will ultimately succeed in obtaining a nuclear-armed missile capable of striking the United State, if left unchecked.