Kim Jong Un oversaw the successful launch of a new, larger intercontinental ballistic missile, in an explosive confirmation of his continued nuclear weapons development over the past four years despite international sanctions and failed talks with the U.S.
The missile fired from a mobile launcher at Pyongyang Sunan International Airport was a Hwasong-17, according to dispatches and photographs published Friday by the official Korean Central News Agency. Kim toured the launch site and shouted “Fire!” before the rocket flew to an altitude of 3,900 miles and fell about 680 miles away in waters off Japan, KCNA said.
It was North Korea’s first successful ICBM test since November 2017, a milestone that prompted speculation of a strike by the U.S. and United Nations sanctions that are still stifling the country’s economy. The Hwasong-17, the world’s largest road-mobile ICBM, was unveiled in October 2020 and is believed to be capable of carrying multiple nuclear warheads across the Pacific Ocean.
