Nuclear-armed North Korea conducted what could be its largest missile test since 2017 on Sunday, analysts said, after governments in Japan and South Korea reported a suspected ballistic missile launch.

South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff reported that a projectile believed to be a single ballistic missile was launched about 7.52 am (2252 GMT) from North Korea's Jagang Province toward the ocean off its east coast.

Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno told a televised briefing that if the projectile was a standard ballistic missile, it is estimated to have reached an altitude of 2,000 km and flown for 30 minutes to a distance of 800 km.

Jagang Province was the site of two launches this month of what North Korea said was a "hypersonic missile," which could reach high speeds while flying and maneuvering at relatively low altitudes.

Analysts said if confirmed, Japan's estimates could indicate one of the largest missile tests by North Korea in years.

North Korea has not tested its longest-range intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBM) or nuclear weapons since 2017, but the country's rulers suggested this month they could restart those activities.

Missile experts said the data could also indicate a test of an intermediate-range ballistic missile (IRBM) such as the Hwasong-12, which was last tested in 2017. IRBMs typically have ranges of 600 to 3,500 miles, while ICBMs have ranges exceeding 3,500 miles.

"Regardless of whether it’s a IRBM or ICBM, this is a strategic missile of some sort and clearly not the same as the prior tests in the January 2022 test series to date," George William Herbert, an adjunct professor at the Center for Nonproliferation Studies and a missile consultant, said on Twitter.

The launch could make January the busiest ever for North Korea's missile programme, which analysts say is expanding and developing new capabilities despite strict sanctions and United Nations Security Council resolutions that ban the country's ballistic missile tests.

"All signs suggest this is a big test - not performing as well as prior North Korean ICBMs, but could have been deliberately flown on a more limited trajectory," said Chad O'Carroll, CEO of Korea Risk Group, which monitors North Korea.

SERIES OF MISSILE TESTS

The test comes less than a week before the opening of the Winter Olympics in Beijing, which is North Korea's main political and economic partner. Pyongyang has said it would be skipping the Games because of the COVID-19 pandemic and "hostile forces."

In an address ahead of the New Year, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un called for bolstering the military with cutting-edge technology at a time when talks with South Korea and the United States have stalled.

Since then, North Korea has tested a dizzying array of weapon types, launch locations, and increasing sophistication.

From hypersonic missiles and long-range cruise missiles to missiles launched from railcars and airports, the tests highlight the nuclear-armed state's rapidly expanding and advancing arsenal amid stalled denuclearisation talks.

"The ballistic missile launch and the ones before it are a threat to our country, the region and the international community," Matsuno said. "This series of launches violate U.N. resolutions and we strongly protest this action by North Korea."

The tests appear aimed at modernizing North Korea's military, bolstering national pride ahead of several major North Korean holidays, and sending a message of strength as the country grapples with economic crises caused by sanctions and COVID-19 lockdowns, said Leif-Eric Easley, a professor of international studies at Ewha University in Seoul.

"The Kim regime hears external discussions of its domestic weaknesses and sees South Korea’s growing strength," he said. "So it wants to remind Washington and Seoul that trying to topple it would be too costly."

Its latest launches included a test of two short-range ballistic missiles and their warheads on Thursday, and an update to a long-range cruise missile system was tested on Tuesday.

Pyongyang has defended the launches as its sovereign right of self defence and say they are not directed at any specific country, but accused Washington and Seoul of having "hostile policies."

Kim visited a munitions factory last week, where he called for "an all-out drive" to produce "powerful cutting-edge arms," and its workers touted his devotion to "smashing ... the challenges of the U.S. imperialists and their vassal forces" seeking to violate their right to self-defence, calling it "the harshest-ever adversity."

(Edited by : Aditi Gautam)

First Published:Jan 30, 2022 8:31 AM IST