The launch drew condemnation from leaders in the United States, Japan, and South Korea.

North Korea’s latest launch was a huge, new intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), state media reported on Friday, in a test leader Kim Jong Un said was designed to demonstrate the might of its nuclear force and deter any U.S. military moves.

It was the first full ICBM test by nuclear-armed North Korea since 2017, and flight data indicated the missile flew higher and longer than any of North Korea’s previous tests, before crashing into the sea west of Japan.

Dubbed the Hwasong-17, the ICBM is the largest liquid-fuelled missile ever launched by any country from a road-mobile launcher, analysts said.

North Korea’s return to major weapons tests capable of potentially striking the United States poses a direct challenge to U.S. President Joe Biden as he responds to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. And it raises the prospect of a new crisis following the election of a new, conservative South Korean administration that has pledged a more muscular military strategy to counter Pyongyang.

South Korea’s President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol, who will speak to Chinese President Xi Jinping later on Friday, said North Korea had nothing to gain from provocation. China is North Korea’s sole major ally and neighbour.