US Carries Out Successful THAAD Missile Defense Test. Credit - US Missile Defense Agency via Storyful

US Carries Out Successful THAAD Missile Defense Test. Credit - US Missile Defense Agency via Storyful

THE United States has been keen to demonstrate its prowess in shooting-down intercontinental ballistic missiles to the world as North Korea ramps up its nuclear weapons rhetoric.

Now China has done the same — in the face of growing nuclear sabre-rattling by US President Donald Trump.

It has this morning conducted a firing of an interceptor missile from the Korla test range in Xinjiang province. It’s a site from which a similar interceptor test was held in 2014.

Chinese state-run media reports a statement from the Ministry of Defence in Beijing as saying the missile was used to destroy an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) during its “mid course” (high altitude) phase above the Earth’s atmosphere.

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“The test has achieved the desired objectives,” the ministry reportedly says.

The statement reportedly added the test was defensive in nature and not meant as a message to any particular country.

MOD: China conducted a successful test of its ground-based midcourse defense system on Monday. The missile intercept test is defensive in nature and is not targeted at any country. (file pic) pic.twitter.com/DqVwZYhdjJ — People's Daily,China (@PDChina) February 6, 2018

But it comes amid a slew of nuclear rhetoric from Pyonyang and Washington.

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un continues to relentlessly pursue his quest for a nuclear warhead and ICBM capable of reaching the United States.

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For his part, US President Donald Trump has reportedly ordered the development of “useful” small nuclear warheads capable of striking pinpoint targets — such as North Korea’s under-mountain test facilities.