WASHINGTON -- The United States said Sunday it has conducted a successful test of an advanced missile defense system two days after North Korea test launched its second intercontinental ballistic missile.

The US military's latest test of the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense missile defense system was planned before North Korea's launch of an ICBM last Friday night, but it came as tensions again heightened over the North's second test of an ICBM in less than a month.

During the test, conducted over the Pacific Ocean, the THAAD system in Alaska "detected, tracked and intercepted" a medium-range ballistic missile launched from a US military aircraft, the US Missile Defense Agency said.
 

North Korea, which has conducted five nuclear tests, test launched its first ICBM on July 4.

Parts of the THAAD system were deployed in South Korea to counter a growing threat from North Korean missiles.

Immediately after North Korea's second ICBM test, South Korean President Moon Jae-in ordered talks to speed up the deployment of the THAAD system in South Korea, including four missile interceptor launchers. (Yonhap)