Politics | North Korea US Delays Missile Test Over N. Korea Tensions White House defends move as 'absolutely not' a retreat By Neal Colgrass Posted Apr 7, 2013 2:23 PM CDT Copied A Chimera target launch vehicle, which is a modified Minuteman booster vehicle, successfully launched late Tuesday, Sept. 23, 2008, from the Vandenberg Air Force Base near Lompoc, Calif. (AP Photo/U.S. Air Force, 2nd Lt. Raymond Geoffroy) As tensions escalate with North Korea, the US has opted to delay a missile test at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, CNN reports. The long-planned test of the Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile was unrelated to North Korea, but delaying it is "prudent and wise" in light of North Korea's sabre-rattling, said a Pentagon official. Top White House adviser Dan Pfeiffer defended the move today on Fox News Sunday, saying the delay is "absolutely not" a retreat following Pyongyang's aggressive rhetoric, reports The Hill. "The onus is on North Korea to take the step back," said Pfeiffer. Read These Next New York Times ranks the best movies of the 21st century. A man has been deported for kicking an airport customs beagle. White House rolls with Trump's 'daddy' nickname. Actor Sam Rockwell gets residuals from movie he wasn't in. Report an error