Alaska Senator Asks For Bolstered Defenses Amid NKorea Threat

A Republican senator from Alaska said his state needs more protection after North Korea's test of an ICBM that could have potentially reached Alaskan soil.

Sen. Dan Sullivan posted a message on his Facebook page hours after North Korea's missile test. He has introduced a bill that would "significantly boost our missile defense capabilities and keep America safe."

If North Korea were to launch a strike at the United States, Alaska could be targeted because of its proximity to the reclusive nation. America's missile defense shield may not be 100 percent ready, however.

"If the North Koreans fired everything they had at us, and we fired at all of the missiles, we'd probably get most of them," Jeffrey Lewis, director of the East Asia nonproliferation program at the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies, told Politico.

"But is 'probably get most' a good day or a bad day?"

In addition to North Korea, Russian bombers have flown near Alaskan airspace on multiple occasions this year.

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