North Korea is suspected of testing the largest intercontinental ballistic missile in 5 years

Reuters Citing announcements on March 24 by the South Korean and Japanese militaries, North Korea appeared to have launched a flying object suspected to be an ICBM over its eastern seaboard on the same day.

If this is true, it would mark the first time since 2017 that North Korea has conducted its largest missile test. It could also signal an escalation in North Korea’s weapons programme, as Pyongyang’s ICBMs can carry nuclear warheads and have a range that could reach the US mainland.

Japan said the North’s launch appeared to be a “new type” ICBM and it flew 1,100 kilometers from the firing site. The Japanese Coast Guard said that the suspected missile object landed in the country’s EEZ, 170 km west of Aomori Prefecture at 3:44 pm (local time).

South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff also detected the launch of “an unidentified object” from North Korea, but did not give details about the incident.

North Korea’s resumption of weapons tests poses a new “headache” for US President Joe Biden, after Russia launched a campaign military in Ukraine. In addition, it will also become a major challenge for the incoming administration of South Korean President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol.

Today’s incident marks North Korea’s 13th missile launch since the beginning of this year. This is seen as an unprecedentedly dense frequency and has raised concerns from the US, Japan and South Korea.

After the 2017 ICBM test, North Korea halted testing of the weapon, after it made efforts to negotiate with the United States on the topic of denuclearization. However, the “out of phase” between the parties caused the exchanges to remain deadlocked between the sides, and North Korea began to resume weapons tests.