intermediate range ballistic missile

The launches marked North Korea’s second known launch event of the year, following a Jan. 14 flight test-firing of the country’s first solid-fuel intermediate range ballistic missile, which reflected its efforts to advance its lineup of weapons targeting U.S. military bases in Japan and Guam.

Given that the Nuri space rocket’s booster stage is equivalent to that of an intermediate range ballistic missile, or IRBM, the country may also be proofing itself against distant, future enemies.

In October 2022, North Korea fired an intermediate range ballistic missile over Japan for the first time in five years.

North Korea last flew a missile over Japan in October in what it described as test of a new intermediate range ballistic missile, which experts say potentially would be capable of reaching Guam, a major U.S. military hub in the Pacific.

North Korea has said that its most recent series of missile tests, which included an intermediate range ballistic missile that flew over Japan last week, was a show of force against joint South Korean and U.S. military drills.