North Korea Test-fires Its Most Powerful ICBM

North Korea has tested its most powerful missile yet just weeks after sending soldiers to aid Russia, reported the Telegraph on October 31.

• North Korea’s newest intercontinental ballistic missile (icbm) was reported to have the longest flight time of any others previously tested. It was airborne for over 85 minutes and reached an altitude of 4,349 miles.

Defiant: Hours before, both the United States and South Korea warned North Korea to withdraw troops from Russia. By all appearances, the icbm test launch is the defiant answer.

This is the country’s 12th missile test this year. Kim Jong-un called it “an appropriate military action that fully meets the purpose of informing the rivals … of our counteraction will,” according to the official Korean Central News Agency. In reality, it is an open violation of sanctions and United Nations Security Council resolutions.

The United States, South Korea and Japan reportedly plan to respond with joint military drills.

Intentional timing: Just weeks before, reports had been showing strong evidence of a North Korean presence in Ukraine. On October 31, Robert Wood, the U.S. ambassador to the UN, told the UN Security Council that 8,000 North Korean troops were stationed in the Kursk region, according to intel the U.S. had received. It is no coincidence that North Korea tested this missile while under the spotlight.

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