NYT: NKorea Missile Test Provided Useful Data to Boost Its Program

Although the missile that North Korea fired on Sunday does not have enough range to hit U.S. military bases in Guam, South Korean defense officials said the test did provide Pyongyang with enough useful data that it could help advance its missile program, The New York Times reported on Monday.

The key advantages to North Korea of the test were that the missile was fired from a mobile launch vehicle and used solid fuel, rather than liquid, meaning that it will make it more difficult for Pyongyang's enemies to detect an attack.

This is so, the defense officials say, because the missile has the ability to be fired quickly since its fuel can already be loaded before it is brought out from a hiding place to a launching site.

This came as North Korean leader Kim Jong Un praised the missile launch as "perfect" and ordered its mass production for military deployment, The Wall Street Journal reported.

The American military bases in Guam, which are about 2,000 miles from North Korea, are key, because they host American strategic bombers and would be used as a major launching pad for additional United States reinforcements if there was war on the Korean Peninsula.

Following the increased tensions in the aftermath of the missile test, U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley told NBC's "Today" show that all options are on the table and that the U.S has "have made it clear, we don't want to start a fight, so don't give us a reason to have one."

The U.S. has become increasingly worried about North Korea's improved technology, The Times reported.

In addition to developing missiles that can hit American military targets in South Korea and Japan, Pyongyang has also said it is working on an intercontinental ballistic missile that could deliver a nuclear warhead to the U.S.

• Nikki Haley to North Korea: 'Don't Give Us a Reason' for a Fight
• Tillerson: N Korea Nuclear Testing 'Disappointing, Disturbing'