Two medium-range ballistic missile tests conducted by North Korea over the last two weeks were likely test runs for a new missile system and were made in preparation for a full-scale Intercontinental Ballistic Missile test that could be disguised as a space launch, US officials have said.
A senior administration official who briefed reporters on the government’s findings called the latest tests “a serious escalation” by North Korea, and a “brazen violation” of multiple United Nations Security Council resolutions demanding the rogue state abandon its nuclear weapons programme, suspend ballistic missile development and testing, and re-join the nuclear non-proliferation treaty.
