A two-stage Taepodong-2 missile could hit parts of the United States, while a three-stage Taepodong-2 could range all of North America, the head of the Defense Intelligence Agency told the US Senate in February 2005.
Previous unclassified Defense Department estimates date back to 1997, when a report put the Taepodong-2 missile's range at between 4,000 and 6,000 kilometers (2,500-3,750 miles) , and the Taepodong-1 at 1,500 km (940 miles).
The United States has been working feverishly, with mixed success, to field missile defenses capable of countering a limited missile attack by North Korea.
A North Korean launch would mark the first real test of the US system, which currently consists of an array of tracking and targeting radars and at least 11 interceptor missiles in silos in Alaska and California.
US Aegis warships have been modified for missile defense missions. Several are stationed in the western Pacific.
Their Spy-1 radars are capable of tracking missile launches. The US Missile Defense Agency also has been testing capabilities of warships to shoot down short and medium range missiles with interceptor missiles.
Last November, a US Navy cruiser intercepted a mock warhead after it separated from a medium-range missile in a test pover the Pacific.
Bill Gertz says the US might test the Missle system out here.
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