WASHINGTON: The US Missile Defense Agency, citing growing missile threats from North Korea and Iran, said on Wednesday the United States was carrying out increasingly realistic tests of its missile defenses while also beefing up cybersecurity.

MDA Director Navy Vice Admiral James Syring said North Korea has fielded hundreds of missiles that could reach US forces based in South Korea and Japan, while Iran was stepping up work on more sophisticated missiles.

Both countries could achieve the ability to launch an intercontinental ballistic missile as early as this year, he told a hearing of the defense subcommittee for the Senate Appropriations Committee.

Syring said the agency was carrying out more war games and exercises to prepare for possible attacks, while increasing the tempo and complexity of its testing, reducing costs and investing in new technologies.

“I believe we are turning the corner with our homeland defenses,” he told the subcommittee, which is considering the agency’s $8.1 billion budget request for fiscal 2016.

But Syring warned that failure by US lawmakers to lift congressional budget caps that are due to resume in fiscal 2016 could jeopardize funding for two key programs, a redesigned warhead and a new long-range radar. He said both are urgently needed to improve the capabilities of the ground-based homeland missile defense system.