North Korea on Sunday fired what appeared to be the most powerful missile it has tested since US President Joe Biden took office, as it revives its brinksmanship to extract concessions from Washington and its neighbors amid a prolonged deadlock in diplomacy.

The Japanese and South Korean militaries said the missile was launched on a high trajectory — apparently to avoid neighboring territories — and reached a maximum altitude of 2,000 kilometers (1,242 miles) and traveled 800 kilometers (497 miles) before landing on the sea. Details of the flight suggest Pyongyang has tested its longest-range ballistic missile since 2017, when it twice flew intermediate-range ballistic missiles over Japan and, separately, three ICBMs that demonstrated the potential to reach the United States.

Sunday’s test was North Korea’s seventh round of launches this month. The unusually fast pace indicates North Korea’s intention to pressure the United States over the deadlock in nuclear talks.

South Korean President Moon Jae-in called an emergency meeting of the National Security Council in which he described the test as a possible “medium-range ballistic missile launch” that brought North Korea to the brink of collapse. break its self-imposed moratorium in 2018 on nuclear tests and long-range missile devices.

Japanese Defense Minister Nobuo Kishi told reporters the missile was the longest range the North had tested since its Hwasong-15 intercontinental ballistic missile in November 2017. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un chaired a meeting of the ruling party on January 20, where senior members made a veiled threat to lift the moratorium, citing what they perceived as US hostility and threats.

This launch suggests that Kim’s moratorium has already been broken, said Lee Choon Geun, a missile expert and an honorary research fellow at the Korea Science and Technology Policy Institute. Last year, the North Korean president announced a five-year plan to develop weapons and an ambitious wish list that included hypersonic weapons, spy satellites, solid-fuel intercontinental ballistic missiles and submarine-launched nuclear missiles.

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