North Korea has been steadily working toward its first test launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile and, according to several news reports, the Bush Administration believes such a test now is possible at any time. (The International Herald Tribune reported similar grim tidings late last month.) However, according to Voice of America, White House spokesman Tony Snow said Sunday on Fox News that the US and other governments were working within the UN to ensure that Pyongyang adheres to its 1999 agreement not to fire ICBMs.
Lockheed Martin projects more than a billion dollars of losses on a classified program, but company officials said April 23 they are confident it will turn profitable by 2028 and become a "franchise" system in the U.S. military.