North Korea says it could test-launch an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) at any time and from anywhere it wants to. The North Korean state news agency KCNA made the announcement on Sunday. American Secretary of Defense Ash Carter reacted by stating that an ICBM launch would be a “serious threat” to the United States. He said the U.S. military would shoot down the missile if it crossed into the territory of the U.S. or its allies. Carter spoke on NBC television. If it were threatening to us, yes. That is, if it's predicted impact or one of our friends or allies, yes, we would shoot it down. He said the U.S. military has strengthened its missile defenses and deployed them in South Korea, Japan and Guam. North Korea did not say for sure that it will carry out an ICBM test in the near future. But the statements could suggest the two sides are getting ready for a new relationship when Donald Trump becomes U.S. president. He will take office on January 20. In a New Year’s message, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said that his country had reached the “final stages” of ICBM development. Two days later, Trump tweeted that the possibility of North Korea developing a nuclear weapon that can reach the U.S. “won’t happen!” A North Korean Ministry spokesman said on Sunday that his government has the right to test missiles whenever it sees fit.