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 A game of doorbell ditch turns fatal for 11-year-old. Guy accused of snatching hat from boy at US Open IDed as rich CEO. At Colorado airport: collision, flames, death. Robert Mueller's family makes a surprise revelation. Report an error