North Korea has conducted seven ballistic missile tests so far in 2017, the latest coming last Sunday with the launch of the new Hwasong-12 rocket. It reached an altitude of 2,111.5 kilometers, which John Schilling of 38 North called “a level of performance never before seen from a North Korean missile.”

“We will conduct ICBM tests anytime and anywhere in accordance with the decisions made by our central leadership,” Ji Jae Ryong, North Korea's ambassador to China, announced, as KCNA, North Korea’s state-run news agency, declared that the Hwasong-12, which can carry a large nuclear warhead, put the United States within its “sighting range for strike.”