North Korea fires biggest missile since 2017; tests US amid Ukraine crisis

North Korea has conducted its biggest missile launch since 2017 as tensions with Russia grow.

The intermediate range missile went over 1,200 miles in the air before dropping in the Sea of Japan. It crossed a distance of 500 miles in under 30 minutes.

South Korea, Japan and the US have condemned the launch which is said to be the biggest not only out of the 7 tests conducted this month but since 2017.

The launch is seen as a bid to tease the West and regional powers as tensions with Russia over Ukraine grow. Some experts are even suggesting that North Korea has the secret support of China since the missiles are launched near North Korea’s border with China.

The launch also comes a week after China violated Taiwan’s Air Defense Zone in a move to send a message to the US and regional allies.

It also comes at a time when political instability – stoked by hunger – is at an all-time high in North Korea, and when South Korea is busy with the Presidential elections.

Kim Jong-un has often vowed to buff up North Korea’s nuclear arsenal which he declares to be paramount to the country’s “security.”

He does all this at the cost of the region’s stability and his country’s crumbling economy.