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N. Korea tests possibly longest-range missile since 2017

In this photo taken during Dec. 27 - Dec. 31, 2021 and provided on Jan. 1, 2022 by the North Korean government, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un attends a meeting of the Central Committee of the ruling Workers' Party in Pyongyang, North Korea. North Korea on Sunday, Jan. 30, 2022 fired at least one suspected ballistic missile into the sea, its 7th round of weapons launches this month, in an apparent attempt to pressure the Biden administration over long-stalled nuclear negotiations. Independent journalists were not given access to cover the event depicted in this image distributed by the North Korean government. The content of this image is as provided and cannot be independently verified. (HOGP)
By Kim Tong-Hyung Associated Press

SEOUL, South Korea – North Korea on Sunday fired what appeared to be the most powerful missile it has tested since U.S. President Joe Biden took office, possibly breaching a self-imposed suspension on the testing of longer-range weapons as it revives its old playbook in brinkmanship to wrest concessions from Washington and neighbors amid a prolonged stalemate in diplomacy.

Japanese officials said the missile, based on their initial assessment of its flight path, potentially reached a maximum altitude of 1,242 miles and traveled 497 miles before landing in the sea.

The flight details suggest the North tested its longest-range ballistic missile since 2017, when it flew intermediate-range ballistic missiles over Japan and separately flight-tested three intercontinental-range ballistic missiles that demonstrated the potential range to reach deep into the American homeland.

Sunday’s test was the North’s seventh round of weapons launches this month. The unusually fast pace of tests indicates North Korea’s intent to pressure the Biden administration over long-stalled nuclear negotiations as pandemic-related difficulties unleash further shock on an economy broken by decades of mismanagement and crippling U.S.-led sanctions over its nuclear weapons program.

South Korean President Moon Jae-in called an emergency National Security Council meeting where he described the test as a possible “midrange ballistic missile launch” that brought North Korea to the brink of breaking its 2018 suspension in the testing of nuclear devices and longer-range ballistic missiles.

The launch came after North Korean leader Kim Jong Un chaired a ruling party meeting on Jan. 20 where senior party members made a veiled threat to lift the moratorium, which also included intermediate-range ballistic missiles along with nuclear explosives and ICBMs, citing what they perceived as U.S. hostility and threats.

Japan’s assessment of the latest missile’s flight details suggest North Korea’s moratorium is already broken, said Lee Choon Geun, a missile expert and honorary research fellow at South Korea’s Science and Technology Policy Institute. He said the data suggests the North tested an intermediate-range ballistic missile or possibly even a weapon approaching ICBM capacities.

In his strongest comments toward the North in years, Moon said the situation around the Korean Peninsula is beginning to resemble 2017, when North Korea’s provocative run in nuclear and long-range missile testing resulted in a verbal exchange of war threats between Kim and then-U.S. President Donald Trump.

Moon described the North’s latest tests as a violation of U.N. Security Council resolutions and a “challenge toward the international society’s efforts to denuclearize the Korean Peninsula, stabilize peace and find a diplomatic solution” to the nuclear standoff.