Liu Xingzhe/VCG via Getty Images(WASHINGTON) — North Korea launched a ballistic missile on Tuesday, marking the latest missile test by the hermit nation and the first in over two months, according to a U.S. official.
South Korea’s Yonhap news agency was the first to report the launch, citing South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff.
“North Korea launched an unidentified ballistic missile eastward from the vicinity of Pyongsong, South Pyongan Province, at dawn today,” the Joint Chiefs of Staff said, according to Yonhap.
This marks the end of the longest stretch of time since President Donald Trump took office in January that the regime has not conducted a test.
North Korea tested its first missile just 22 days after Trump was inaugurated on Jan. 20. From March to May, the regime conducted tests every one to two weeks.
On Aug. 8, Trump threatened the regime with “fire and fury like the world has never seen,” prompting North Korean leader Kim Jong Un to say he would consider sending missiles into the waters off the coast of Guam in “mid-August.”
Several weeks later, North Korea fired three short-range ballistic missiles not toward Guam but into the Sea of Japan.
North Korea’s last test of a ballistic missile was on Sept. 15, an intermediate-range KN-17 that flew over the Japanese island of Hokkaido.
The latest test marks the 15th ballistic missile test since Trump took office.
The Trump administration has said all military options remain on the table when dealing with the North Korean threat, but top U.S. officials have consistently emphasized the U.S. is pursuing a diplomatically led effort, including additional economic pressure.
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