BLITZER: Breaking news tonight: the Pentagon testing a new anti-missile defense system against an intercontinental ballistic missile for the first time. Our Pentagon correspondent Barbara Starr is working the story for us. Barbara, the test comes amid the growing missile threat from North Korea.</s>BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Wolf. The Pentagon needed a win on this today and they do believe they got it. Here's what happened -- a so-called interceptor missile took off from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, flew high over the Pacific Ocean and met an incoming intercontinental ballistic missile that took off from a remote island in the Pacific that the U.S. launched. The whole idea was to simulate what would happen if North Korea launched an ICBM or Iran, for that matter, against the United States. It's a hit-to-kill system so the interceptor hit and killed off the incoming missile. That's what worked. But let's make no mistake here. It was a preplanned test planned for some time. Everybody knew the flight route, everybody knew the timing. They knew where those two missiles would be in the sky programmed to hit each other in the real world. In the event of a North Korean attack, the U.S. would have to really step up the effort. Several missiles would be launched. They would make an all-out effort to bring down any North Korean threat and that is what the focus of this multibillion dollar program is all about. They are going to continue to test it throughout the coming months -- Wolf.</s>BLITZER: Bottom line: they got a lot of work to do in this area, but it's a good start at least on this day. Barbara Starr at the Pentagon -- thanks very much for that report. And thanks to all of our viewers for watching. I'm Wolf Blitzer in THE SITUATION ROOM. "ERIN BURNETT OUTFRONT" starts right now.
U.S. Successfully Tests Anti-Missile System as North Korea Threat Grows.