The Rise of North Korean Missile Tests

North Korean missile tests intensified greatly in 2022 and 2023, data from the Nuclear Threat Initiative shows. While 2022 saw a total of 64 successful tests (or tests of unknown outcome), 2023 was the second most busy in the past 10 years, with 30 tests, including five of intercontinental missiles. Last year specifically, tests also caused concern in the region, for example when they set off emergency warnings in Japan in April and May. 2023 saw a test of North Korea's latest intercontinental missile, the Hwasong-18, in July, the launch of an orbital rocket in November and another advanced intercontinental test lasting 73 minutes in December. In 2024, the source has logged five successful launches between January and March, two being of intermediate missiles.

In 2016 and 2017, there had also been a flurry of longer range missile tests in North Korea, leading to meetings between North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and then-U.S. President Donald Trump. No tests occurred in 2018 but due to the lack of a lasting agreement, they started back up in 2019, while intercontinental test resumed in 2022.