North Korea Launches First Ballistic Missile Test of Trump's Presidency

A little more than a month after declaring that its government could launch an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) “anytime and anywhere,” North Korea has conducted a ballistic missile test, the first such test since President Donald Trump's inauguration last month. The missile, launched from the Panghyon area along in North Korea's western sea coast, flew east in the direction of the Sea of Japan for roughly 500 kilometers (300 miles). The test, confirmed to Reuters by South Korean military officials, was assessed by the North's democratic neighbor to have been conducted as "part of a show of force in response to the new U.S. administration's hardline position against the North." North Korean leader Kim Jong Un had declared in early January that the hermit kingdom was on the verge of conducting more sophisticated missile tests, and that "research and development of cutting edge arms equipment is actively progressing and ICBM rocket test launch preparation is in its last stage."