Kim’s ‘monster’ ICBM test kills four years of restraint

SEOUL – At a time when real missiles are impacting real people and places across Ukraine, North Korea’s test of a colossal intercontinental ballistic missile on Thursday failed to make massive international waves.

Although North Korea demonstrated its upgraded capabilities, it is not a strategic game-changer, given that it first tested a missile capable of reaching mainland America in 2017.

But the launch of a missile that can hit the US is significant. It ends half of Kim Jong Un’s self-declared 2018 moratorium on ICBM and nuclear tests. North Korea has not tested a nuclear device since 2017.

Thursday’s launch drew condemnation from Washington and a retaliatory test-firing of multiple missiles from South Korea.