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Jan 17, 2022 - World

North Korea launches 4th suspected missile test this month

Rebecca Falconer
People watch a television screen showing a news broadcast with file footage of a North Korean missile test, at a railway station in Seoul on January 17.
A news broadcast in Seoul of an apparent North Korean missile test on Monday morning local time. Photo: Jung Yeon-je/AFP via Getty Images

North Korea's military fired "two suspected short-range ballistic missiles" eastward from Pyongyang on Monday morning local time, per South Korean and Japanese officials.

Why it matters: The fourth such launch since Jan. 5 comes days after North Korea's military warned of "stronger" action if the U.S. moved to have more sanctions imposed on the country.

Context: The Biden administration sanctioned North Korean and Russian individuals and entities earlier this month for supporting North Korea's ballistic missile program.

  • The U.S. ambassador to the United Nations is proposing the UN implement sanctions over North Korea's "six ballistic missile launches since September" for violating UN Security Council resolutions.
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