Can the US Defend Against a North Korean Missile Strike? | Military.com: A flurry of recent missile tests by North Korea has set nerves on edge and stirred fresh concern about whether U.S. defenses could protect Americans against a sneak attack. North Korea has detonated nuclear devices and is trying to develop long-range missiles capable of reaching the United States.
The Pentagon has spent more than $40 billion on the Ground-based Midcourse Defense system -- GMD for short. It's designed specifically to thwart a nuclear strike by North Korea or Iran. Yet there are grave doubts about whether it's up to the task.
Here is a look at the system's origins, how it's supposed to work and the technical problems that have bedeviled it.
