EXPLAINER: What made North Korea test giant new ICBM?
ABC News
In firing a massive intercontinental ballistic missile high into space, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has turned back the clock to the “fire and fury” days of 2017
SEOUL, South Korea -- In firing an almost cartoonishly massive intercontinental ballistic missile into space, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has turned back the clock to the “fire and fury” days of 2017 as he revives nuclear brinkmanship aimed at pressuring the United States to accept his country as a nuclear power and remove crippling sanctions.
Thursday’s launch of the Hwasong-17 was North Korea’s most provocative weapons test since U.S. President Joe Biden took office and underscores Kim's determination to continue building his military while diplomacy remains frozen.
This experimental launch is worrying because the weapon is being developed to be armed with nuclear bombs and to threaten Washington, D.C., New York and much of the rest of the world. The North, however, may need more tests — including of nuclear bombs — in coming months as Kim tries to both perfect his technology and get a response from the Biden administration, which is distracted by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and an intensifying rivalry with China.
Here's a closer look at Kim’s new missile and what he may be up to next:
