bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

articlePageQuery

filter

article

articleBaseAdvertisingInfoArticle

articleListArticle

articleSeoArticle

hooksArticleAcknowledgementGateOverlayArticle

hooksTrackPageViewArticle

hooksContentInterestArticle

articleLinkingDataContent

hooksAmpRedirectArticle

articleSchemaContent

liveArticle

advertZone

sentiment

contentLock

topics

types

sections

paywallTypes

createdDate

publishedDate

sponsorType

urlAlias

moreOnThisArticles

commentCount

authorLocations

authors

corrections

displaySlideShow

multimediaEmbed

printHeadline

seriesContainer

articleSpeeches

socialHeadline

headline

images

flag

firstTopic

glossary

flattenTypeIds

image

relatedLinks

relatedNewsletters

__typename

sponsor

pdfFiles

seriesReverseOrder

series

disableOffPlatformContent

published

updatedDate

summary

subHeadline

body

keywords

readingTime

customTimezone

liveContents

Agence France-Presse

Late 1970s: Starts working on a version of the Soviet Scud-B (range 300 kilometres or 186 miles). Test-fired in 1984
1987-92: Begins developing variant of Scud-C (500 km), Rodong-1 (1,300 km), Taepodong-1 (2,500 km), Musudan-1 (3,000 km) and Taepodong-2 (6,700 km)
August, 1998: Test-fires Taepodong-1 over Japan as part of failed satellite launch
September, 1999: Declares moratorium on long-range missile tests amid improving ties with US
July 12, 2000: Fifth round of US-North Korean missile talks ends without agreement after North demands $1 billion a year in return for halting missile exports
March 3, 2005: North ends moratorium on long-range missile testing, blames Bush administration’s “hostile” policy
July 5, 2006: North test-fires seven missiles, including a long-range Taepodong-2 which explodes after 40 seconds
Watch: North Korea fires four missiles near Japan in March


October 9, 2006: North conducts underground nuclear test, its first
April 5, 2009: North Korea launches long-range rocket which flies over Japan and lands in the Pacific, in what it says is an attempt to put a satellite into orbit. The United States, Japan and South Korea see it as a disguised test of a Taepodong-2
May 25, 2009: North conducts its second underground nuclear test, several times more powerful than the first
April 13, 2012: North launches what it has said is a long-range rocket to put a satellite into orbit, but it disintegrates soon after blast-off
December 12, 2012: North launches a multi-stage rocket and successfully places an Earth observational satellite in orbit
February 12, 2013: Conducts its third underground nuclear test
January 6, 2016: North conducts its fourth underground nuclear test, which it says was of a hydrogen bomb - a claim doubted by most experts
March 9, 2016: Kim Jong-un claims the North has successfully miniaturised a thermo-nuclear warhead
April 23, 2016: North test-fires a submarine-launched ballistic missile
July 8, 2016: US and South Korea announce plans to deploy an advanced missile defence system -- THAAD (Terminal High Altitude Area Defense)
August 3, 2016: North Korea fires a ballistic missile directly into Japan’s maritime economic zone for the first time
September 9, 2016: Fifth nuclear test
March 6, 2017: North fires four ballistic missiles in what it says is an exercise to hit US bases in Japan
March 7, 2017: US begins deploying THAAD missile defence system in South Korea
May 14, 2017: North fires a ballistic missile which flies 700 kilometres before landing in the Sea of Japan. Analysts say it has an imputed range of 4,500 kilometres and brings Guam within reach
July 4, 2017: North Korea test-fires a ballistic missile which flies 930 kilometres before landing in the Sea of Japan (East Sea). Analysts say it has an imputed range of 6,700 kilometres and brings Alaska within reach


QBZ-191 assault rifle gives Chinese small arms tactical and export edge

As China’s military closes gap on US, economic front opens in race for security

PLA conducts amphibious landing drill in strait as Taiwanese leader marks first year

Pentagon urges faster militarisation of space, citing China’s advances

Explainers: Military

Key dates in North Korea’s missile development

A handout photo made available by the official North Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) shows the North Korean inter-continental ballistic missile Hwasong-14 being prepared before a test launch. Photo: EPA

China calls for calm after North Korea claims first successful launch of ICBM that can ‘strike any place in the world’

If this type of missile becomes fully operational, it could potentially deliver a nuclear warhead to the US mainland

In this image made from video of a news bulletin Tuesday, July 4, 2017, North Korea's KRT television shows a presenter announcing North Korea has test-launched its first intercontinental ballistic missile. This appears to contradict South Korean and U.S. officials who said Tuesday's launch was an intermediate-range missile. (KRT via AP Video)

A woman walks past a TV broadcast of a news report on North Korea's Hwasong-14 missile, a new intercontinental ballistic missile, which they said is successfully tested, at a railway station in Seoul, South Korea, July 4, 2017. REUTERS/Kim Hong-Ji

South Korean President Moon Jae-in speaks as he presides over a meeting of the National Security Council at the presidential Blue House in Seoul, South Korea, Tuesday, July 4, 2017. North Korea on Tuesday launched yet another ballistic missile in the direction of Japan, South Korean officials said, part of a string of recent test-firings as the North works to build a nuclear-tipped missile that could reach the United States. (Kim Ju-hyung/Yonhap via AP)

South Korean army's K-9 self-propelled howitzers take positions during an annual exercise in Paju, near the border with North Korea, South Korea, Tuesday, July 4, 2017. North Korea claimed to have tested its first intercontinental ballistic missile in a launch Tuesday, a potential game-changing development in its push to militarily challenge Washington — but a declaration that conflicts with earlier South Korean and U.S. assessments that it had an intermediate range. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)

A handout photo made available by the official North Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) shows the North Korean intercontinental ballistic missile Hwasong-14 being prepared before a test launch. Photo: EPA

News

Asia

East Asia