Issei Kato/Reuters
North Korea’s nuclear test last month didn’t improve its technical standing, the head of the U.S. Missile Defense Agency said Tuesday. “I would assess that their technical capability has not increased,” Vice Admiral James Syring said at a Center for Strategic and International Studies event. “If it was warranted, you would see our program change.” He said if North Korea’s fourth nuclear test was a threat, the Missile Defense Agency would have 37 ground-based interceptors implemented in Alaska and California by the end of the year and 44 by the end of 2017. Nuclear experts have rejected Pyongyang’s claim that it detonated a hydrogen bomb, but say North Korea likely gained data from the test. Syring added the U.S. would continue to watch Pyongyang over its effort to create a nuclear warhead capable of reaching U.S. soil.