North Korea appears to have returned to testing long -range missiles for the first time since 2017.
Seoul:
North Korea appeared on Thursday to have returned to test its long -range intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) for the first time since 2017.
The launch leaves a diplomatic legacy of former US President Donald Trump and South Korean President Moon Jae-in who will come out in tatters. Both have touted the moratorium North Korea itself imposed on the test as a major breakthrough from several years of engagement.
Amid the stalled denuclearization talks that U.S. President Joe Biden has struggled to start, Thursday’s test highlighted the bumpy road that led from the threat of “fire and anger” to a historic summit with Kim Jong Un to stalled negotiations and frustration, and now back to the main weapon test.
Here are key moments in North Korea’s missile testing and its foreign relations, particularly with the United States, over the past few years.
29 November 2017
Ending a year that saw North Korea’s first intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) launch, nuclear tests, and a war of words between leader Kim Jong Un and then-US President Donald Trump, North Korea tested the Hwasong-15 ICBM, capable of reaching all The United States, and declared it to have become a nuclear power.
25 February 2018
North Korean official Kim Yong Chol expressed readiness for U.S. talks while visiting South Korea for the Winter Olympics.
March 8, 2018
South Korean President Moon Jae-in’s envoy conveyed Kim’s invitation for Trump to visit North Korea; Trump agreed to meet Kim.
27 April 2018
Kim and Moon met for the first inter -Korean summit in more than a decade, pledging to work for a “complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula”. They met again in May and September.
12 Jun 2018
Kim and Trump held their first summit, in Singapore, agreeing to the nuclear elimination of the Korean peninsula in exchange for U.S. security guarantees.
19 Jun 2018
South Korea and the US announced the suspension of joint military exercises.
27 July 2018
North Korea returned the remains of 55 U.S. soldiers.
9 September 2018
North Korea displayed floats and flowers but no long -range missiles at the military parade.
10 September 2018
The White House revealed Kim’s proposal for a second summit.
16 November 2018
Kim guided the test of “advanced tactical weapons”.
28 February 2019
Trump and Kim ended their second summit in the Vietnamese capital Hanoi without agreement because of differences in Pyongyang’s demands for the lifting of sanctions and by Washington for North Korea to abandon nuclear weapons.
4 May 2019
Kim oversaw the testing of the new short -range ballistic rocket and missile (SRBM) in the first such test since the November 2017 launch of the ICBM.
May 9, 2019
North Korea fired two KN-23 SRBMs.
30 Jun 2019
Trump and Kim met for the third time in the Demilitarization Zone (DMZ) that separates the two Koreas.
23 July 2019
Kim inspected a large new submarine, possibly designed for a ballistic missile (SLBM) launched by a submarine.
25, 31 July – 2019
North Korea launches KN-23 SRBM.
August 2, 2019
North Korea fired two more KN-23 SRBMs; Trump said the test did not violate his agreement with Kim.
6, 10, 16 August – 2019
North Korea fired more KN-23 and tactical missiles.
August 24, 2019
Kim oversaw testing of the new “super-large” multi-launch rocket system (MLRS).
10 September 2019
North Korea is testing a “super-large” MLRS.
October 2, 2019
North Korea tests the new Pukguksong-3 SLBM firing.
October 21, 2019
Trump said Kim and he get along well and “like” and “respect” each other.
October 31, 2019
North Korea is testing a “super-large” MLRS.
January 1, 2020
Kim vowed to further expand the nuclear program and introduce “new strategic weapons”.
3, 9, 14 March – 2020
North Korea tests MLRS and short -range missiles.
March 21, 2020
Kim oversaw the testing of the new tactical guided weapon. Trump sent a letter to Kim offering help on the new coronavirus.
March 29, 2020
North Korea is testing a “super-large” MLRS.
October 10, 2020
North Korea introduced new ICBMs and SLBMs at military parades.
October 22, 2020
Trump said he had a very good relationship with Kim and stopped the war. Biden equates Kim with Adolf Hitler and calls him a “thug”.
March 21, 2021
North Korea fired two short -range cruise missiles but the United States downplayed the first such test under President Joe Biden and said it was still open to dialogue.
13 September 2021
North Korea is testing a new long -range cruise missile, state media said, which analysts see as possibly the country’s first weapon with nuclear capability.
15 September 2021
North Korea fired a pair of ballistic missiles from its east coast. North Korean state media said it was a new “train -carrying missile system”.
28 September 2021
North Korea launched its first “hypersonic missile” featuring a gliding warhead.
October 19, 2021
North Korea is testing a new SLBM launched from a Sinpo -class submarine, reportedly featuring advanced guidance technology, and capable of performing “pull -up” movements.
January 5, 2022
North Korea is testing a second -type hypersonic missile. Analysts said it appears to have a Manoeuvrable Re -Entry Vehicle (MaRV) to carry its explosive warhead.
January 10, 2022
North Korea conducted a second test of the hypersonic missile, showcasing better capabilities throughout the first launch.
January 12, 2022
The Biden administration imposed its first sanctions on North Korea’s weapons program.
January 15, 2022
North Korea tested two KN-23 SRBMs from two separate trains.
January 25, 2022
North Korea is testing-launching two long-range cruise missiles.
January 30, 2022
North Korea fired on the Hwasong-12, the first launch of the Intermediate Range Ballistic Missile (IRBM) since 2017.
February 27 and March 5 – 2022
North Korea launched two ballistic missiles towards the East Sea. It did not identify the missiles involved, but said it was testing components for reconnaissance satellites. AS. and South Korean officials said the launch was a secret test of North Korea’s new Hwasong-17 ICBM system, though not at full range or capability.
March 9, 2022
Conservative Yoon Suk-yeol was elected president of South Korea. While saying he was open to diplomacy, he vowed to take a tougher approach to North Korea than its predecessor.
March 11, 2022
The South Korean military said it had tracked activity at the North Korean nuclear test site to restore at least some of the tunnels demolished in 2018 when the site closed.
March 15, 2022
The aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln led military exercises in the Yellow Sea, and air defense artillery at Osan air base in South Korea intensified exercises in response to increased North Korean missile tests.
March 16, 2022
South Korea reported that a suspected ballistic missile failed shortly after being launched from Pyongyang international airport and exploded in the air.
March 24, 2022
North Korea is conducting full ICBM tests, according to South Korea and Japan, the first such launch since 2017.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
