?????? North Korea takes provocations to the highest level by launching missile over Japan

On the morning of 4 October, North Korea sent a strong message to the world:?Pyongyang's toughest side is back. The communist regime launched a medium-range ballistic missile that?flew over Japanese territory and set off anti-missile alarms?in the prefectures of Hokkaido and Aomori. This is the first time something like this has happened following launches in August and September 2017 that also flew over Japan and set off evacuation alarms. At that time, the provocation was met with the?largest sanctions package?ever applied against the communist country. Therefore, it does not appear that there may now be much room for further punishing the Kim regime.

The missile in question is believed to be a?Hwasong-12. Since its launch, it traveled 4,600 kilometers (2,858 miles) of horizontal distance, making it?the longest-range ballistic test?in?North Korea's history. The missile is estimated to have soared?970 kilometers or 602 miles?into the exosphere and reached speeds of Mach 17, i.e.?17 times the speed of sound. This characteristic makes it a?hypersonic weapon?theoretically capable of evading modern anti-missile shields with high probability.

However, it is not clear that the missile could achieve the same speed and range?in an actual strike situation?with the weight of the warhead inside, as on this occasion the missile was not loaded at launch. However, it seems clear that the Pyongyang regime has continued to make progress in its ballistic program even during Moon Jae-in's presidency and the peace and denuclearization talks it held with the United States between 2018 and 2019.

Why is it important?

A short time ago, in a VisualPolitik video in which it was reviewed the?10 years of Kim Jong-un's government, we told you that the North Korean tyrant basically had two options for the post-COVID stage: to bet on?civilian economic development along?with?military development, or to?give priority to military development and autarky.

The launch seems to make it clear that?the second option has ultimately?been chosen. The question is, how far will this new escalation of tension go? South Korean intelligence believes that North Korea?may be preparing an imminent?nuclear test?between 16 October and 7 November. In addition, one of the tunnels at the?Punggye-rinuclear test complex appears to have been repaired, as well as other facilities that were dismantled as a symbol of goodwill during talks and summits with Donald Trump.?