North Korea launches first ICBM since 2017
Pyongyang successfully fired its first intercontinental ballistic missile on 24 March, more than four years since the last time did so. (KCNA)
North Korea has engaged in a flurry of ICBM testing, with both successes and a failure.
North Korea launched an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) from Pyongyang International Airport on 24 March, the country’s fourth such test and the first since 28 November 2017.
The liquid-propelled missile was launched from a giant 11-axle road-mobile launcher, flying for 71 minutes. It achieved an altitude of 6,248.5km and a range of 1,090km before plopping down inside Japan’s exclusive economic zone. Its splashdown point was 150km west of the Oshima Peninsula in the southern part of Hokkaido.
This flight path was a lofted trajectory, allowing North Korea to observe the missile’s full flight and avoid flying over Japan. Such a
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