Slideshow ( 2 images )

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. military said on Tuesday it had staged a successful, first-ever missile defense test involving a simulated attack by an intercontinental ballistic missile, as concerns mount over North Korea’s advancing missile and nuclear program.

“The intercept of a complex, threat-representative ICBM target is an incredible accomplishment ... a critical milestone for this program,” Vice Admiral Jim Syring, the director of the Missile Defense Agency, said in a statement.