Article snippet: This week's long-range missile test by North Korea marks a distinct, if unsteady, advance in its quest to develop the capability to hit the U.S. mainland, according to two experts. The distance this missile traveled confirms that North Korea is "no longer just a regional problem. This is a U.S. problem," ABC News aviation consultant Steve Ganyard, a retired Marine Corps colonel, said. "This is the first time, if the analysis is correct, that we're seeing a North Korean weapon that can hit the United States. Not the mainland, but Alaska is very much part of the United States, and this is a very worrying development," he said on " Link to the full article to read more