North Korea Launches Most Powerful Missile In Years

North Korea has fired what is believed to be an Intermediate Range Ballistic Missile (IRBM) which fell into waters near Japan, according to Bloomberg. Crucially, this marked one of the most powerful missile launches in years and also busiest after Pyongyang conducted successful hypersonic missile tests earlier this month. 

Both South Korean and Japanese governments confirmed the IRBM launch on Sunday. They said the missile reached a height of approximately 1,243 miles and flew about 500 miles for 30 minutes before landing in waters outside of Japan’s exclusive economic zone. 

North Korea tests its most powerful missile since 2017, ramping up firepower for its record-breaking seventh launch this month as Seoul warns nuclear and long-range tests could be next pic.twitter.com/sgQSpA7ZjA

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“If the missile were fired at a normal apogee, its range would be up to 3,500 kilometers to 5,500 kilometers, making it an IRBM and North Korea’s longest test since 2017,” Joseph Dempsey, research associate for defense and military analysis at the International Institute for Strategic Studies in London, told CNN.

Sunday’s launch is North Korea’s sixth ballistic missile launch this year and the seventh missile test overall, already surpassing firing totals of 2021. 

The series of missile launches came as North Korean leader Kim Jong Un vowed to strengthen his military capability further. Sunday’s test is a wake-up for the Biden administration because South Korean President Moon Jae-in said North Korea could abandon the moratorium on Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles (ICBM) — indicating these long-range missiles could potentially hit the US mainland. 

Soo Kim, a policy analyst with the Rand Corp. who previously worked at the Central Intelligence Agency, told Bloomberg, “Kim hasn’t had to pay the price for his actions, and he knows that especially now – with Covid, the Russia-Ukraine situation, brimming U.S.-China tensions, not to mention a South Korean presidential campaign season – the time is ripe for provocations.”

“Kim’s made it pretty clear that it will take something greater than sanctions to make him flinch,” the Rand analyst said. 

It was reported last month that the US, South Korea, North Korea, and China “have agreed ‘in principle’ to declare a formal end to the Korean War. But they’ve yet to meet on the matter due to Pyongyang’s demands.” The matter has still been stalled and doesn’t look to find a way forward anytime soon.

Notably, the latest test marks the rogue country’s missile and possibly atomic ambitions. Now the world waits for a response from the Biden administration, busy drumming up the prospects for conflict with Russia over Ukraine.