Seoul: North Korea fired a long-range ballistic missile into the East Sea on Thursday, marking the regime's first intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) launch of the year. The launch continues a series of tests that have been ongoing since 2022. According to Yonhap News Agency, the chronology of North Korea's ICBM launches began on February 27, 2022, when a missile was fired toward the East Sea, which North Korea claimed was a test to develop its military spy satellite. The missile traveled about 300 kilometers at a top altitude of 620 km. Subsequent launches included a similar test on March 5, where the missile flew 270 km at a peak altitude of 560 km, leading to claims from Seoul and Washington that these were efforts to develop a new ICBM system. On March 24, 2022, North Korea launched what it claimed to be the new Hwasong-17 liquid-fuel ICBM, which traveled approximately 1,080 km and reached an altitude of over 6,200 km before descending into the East Sea. Another suspected ICBM was fired on May 25, 2022, flying 360 km at a top altitude of 540 km. The year 2022 also saw a launch on November 3, believed to be a Hwasong-17, which reportedly ended in failure. However, a successful launch occurred on November 18, with the missile flying around 1,000 km at an apogee of 6,100 km at a top speed of Mach 22. In 2023, launches continued with a Hwasong-15 ICBM on February 18 and a Hwasong-17 ICBM on March 16, both flying about 1,000 km on a lofted trajectory. On April 13, North Korea introduced the new Hwasong-18 solid-fuel ICBM, followed by additional launches of the same model on July 12 and December 18. The latest launch on October 31, 2024, involved a long-range ballistic missile traveling 1,000 km on a lofted trajectory before descending into the sea. Each of these efforts has been monitored closely by South Korea's military and international observers, contributing to ongoing tensions and discussions regarding North Korea's missile capabilities.