The Pentagon has tentatively scheduled for late May the next intercept test of its $36 billion ground-based missile defense system -- the first in nearly three years, according to a spokesman.

With North Korea ramping up its ballistic missile development and President Donald Trump vowing to rein in Kim Jong-un's regime, the success of missile defense efforts has taken on heightened importance in Washington. The head of the U.S. Strategic Command, Air Force General John Hyten, told a Senate panel this week that "although North Korea is not an existential threat," it's "the most dangerous and unpredictable actor in the Pacific region."

While confirming the May target, the next missile defense test remains contingent on the availability of testing resources, Missile Defense Agency spokesman Christopher Johnson said via email. Interceptors are located at Fort Greely in Alaska and Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. The system is managed by Boeing Co.

North Korea's weapons program is expected to be a major subject of talks between Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping in Florida starting Thursday. The U.S. president has said Beijing can do more to rein in North Korea. Beijing, in turn, has protested an Obama administration decision to deploy an Army missile system called Thaad in South Korea designed to intercept short and medium-range systems.

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