When the world powers were busy planning their moves against Russia after it invaded Ukraine, experts expected Kim Jong-Un to make his own moves. And he did. North Korea launched what is suspected to be a ballistic missile off the east coast of the Korean Peninsula on Sunday. (https://edition.cnn.com/2022/02/26/asia/north-korea-missile-launch-intl-hnk/index.html)

According to Japanese defense minister Nobuo Kishi, the missile flew for a distance of over 185 miles with a maximum altitude of over 370 miles. This was Pyongyang’s first missile test in February.

Last month, North Korea fired a missile that flew so far that it could have reached the U.S. territory of Guam in the South Pacific. North Korea conducted seven tests, the highest launched in a month ever since Kim Jong Un came to power exactly a decade ago.

For instance, Evans Revere, former senior U.S. diplomat in Seoul and Washington, speaking to the Daily Beast, predicted a month back that Russia, China, and North Korea could take advantage of the USA’s single-minded focus on Ukraine. And one of the ways he had predicted was of a possible missile launch by North Korea, knowing that there could be little consequence of such an activity. Revere also had said that there could be coordination among themselves “designed to distract” the United States.
(https://www.thedailybeast.com/kim-jong-un-is-ready-to-exploit-us-distraction-in-ukraine)

While South Korea, Japan and others have condemned North Korea for its latest missile launch, it is unlikely to affect Kim Jong-Un’s regime. (https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/2/10/moon-warns-of-crisis-if-n-korea-resumes-long-range-missile-tests) Last month South Korean President Moon Jae-in, who is a staunch proponent of dialogue with the North who has, voiced growing concern that his nuclear-armed neighbor had “moved closer to scrapping” its moratorium and it could have consequences. (https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2022/01/31/asia-pacific/north-korea-missile-analysis/)

The Biden administration has said in the past that it was willing to discuss all issues with Kim Jong-Un without any preconditions. Still, Pyongyang says it will not resume negotiations unless Washington and Seoul stopped “hostile policies” towards it.

Read more:

North Korea test fires possible ballistic missile in sea in eighth launch this year:
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/feb/27/north-korea-test-fires-possible-ballistic-missile-in-sea-in-eighth-test-this-year

Why North Korea’s most recent missile tests are worrying U.S. officials:
https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/why-north-koreas-most-recent-missile-tests-are-worrying-u-s-officials