<br><div><aside class="gnt_em gnt_em__fp gnt_em_vp__tp gnt_em__el" aria-label="Video - Biden says North Korea is top foreign policy issue"/><p class="gnt_ar_b_p">SEOUL, South Korea — North Korea on Sunday fired what appeared to be the most powerful missile it has tested since President Joe Biden took office, as it revives its old playbook in brinkmanship to wrest concessions from Washington and neighbors amid a prolonged stalemate in diplomacy.</p><p class="gnt_ar_b_p">The Japanese and South Korean militaries said the missile was launched on a lofted trajectory, apparently to avoid the territorial spaces of neighbors, and reached a maximum altitude of 1,242 miles and traveled 497 miles before landing in the sea.</p><p class="gnt_ar_b_p">The flight details suggest the North tested its longest-range ballistic missile since 2017, when it twice flew intermediate-range ballistic missiles over Japan and, separately, three intercontinental ballistic missiles that demonstrated the potential to reach deep into the American homeland.</p><p class="gnt_ar_b_p">Sunday's test was North Korea's seventh round of launches this month. The unusually fast pace of tests indicates its intent to pressure the Biden administration over long-stalled nuclear negotiations as pandemic-related difficulties put further stress on an economy broken by decades of mismanagement and crippling U.S.-led sanctions over its nuclear weapons program.</p><aside aria-label="advertisement" class="gnt_m gnt_x gnt_x__lbl gnt_x__al"/><p class="gnt_ar_b_p"><strong class="gnt_ar_b_al">More:</strong><a target="_blank" href="/story/news/world/2022/01/26/north-korea-missile-launch-south-korea/9236284002/" rel="noopener" data-t-l=":b|e|inline click|${u}" class="gnt_ar_b_a">North Korea fires 2 suspected missiles in its sixth launch in 2022, South Korea says</a></p><p class="gnt_ar_b_p"><strong class="gnt_ar_b_al">More:</strong><a target="_blank" href="/story/news/world/2022/01/25/north-korea-tested-cruise-missiles-south-korean-officials-say/9207841002/" rel="noopener" data-t-l=":b|e|inline click|${u}" class="gnt_ar_b_a">South Korean officials say North Korea is testing cruise missiles</a></p><p class="gnt_ar_b_p">South Korean President Moon Jae-in called an emergency National Security Council meeting where he described the test as a possible...</p></div> <style> .wrapper { text-align: center; } </style> <div class="wrapper"> <a class="button" href ="https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2022/01/30/north-korea-missile-details-suggest-longest-range-launch-since-2017/9275330002/">Read more <span>➤</span></a> </div>
