China on Thursday said it has conducted scientific tests of a rail car-based long-range missile capable of hitting targets across the US.

“Scientific tests in the Chinese territory (have been) conducted according to the plan,” defence ministry spokesperson Col. Yang Yujun told a monthly press briefing.

He was responding to a question in the US media about China conducting a test of rail car-based long-range missile DF-41 capable of hitting targets throughout the US.

The canister ejection test of a DF-41 missile from a rail-mobile launcher was detected on December 5 in western China, US website Free Beacon had reported.

This month marks a significant milestone for Chinese strategic weapons developers and demonstrates that Beijing is moving ahead with building and deploying the DF-41 on difficult-to-locate rail cars, in addition to previously-known road-mobile launchers, the website reported quoting US officials.