U.S. missile defence budget cut as North Korea pushes ahead

FILE PHOTO: President Donald Trump speaks during a campaign rally, ahead of U.S. midterm elections, at Pensacola International Airport in Florida, U.S., November 3, 2018. REUTERS/Carlos Barria/File Photo

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Just when it looks like North Korean leader Kim Jong Un may restart his ballistic missile testing programme, U.S. President Donald Trump has proposed trimming the missile defence budget, as one set of deterrents is delayed by two years.

The U.S. Missile Defense Agency - charged with developing, testing and fielding a ballistic missile defence system - will delay the expansion of the Ground-based Midcourse Defense (GMD) system by two years because of a delay in the redesign of the Raytheon Co-made "kill vehicle" the system uses.