North Korea launches a long-range missile following a discussion between South Korea and the US

North Korea has fired a suspected intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), marking its second missile launch in a matter of hours. This comes after South Korean and US defense officials met last week to update plans for responding to North Korea's nuclear threats. In response to the meeting, North Korea announced that it would take "more offensive countermeasures." The state launched a short-range missile on Sunday night and a longer-range missile on Monday morning. South Korean and Japanese officials detected the missile launch, which traveled for 73 minutes, covering about 1,000km before landing in the sea west of Hokkaido. If confirmed to be an ICBM, this would be North Korea's fifth launch of such weapons this year, the highest ever for a single year. Tensions between North and South Korea have been escalating, with Pyongyang violating UN sanctions by successfully launching a spy satellite into orbit last month. In response, Seoul partially suspended a military agreement and Pyongyang withdrew from it entirely. North Korea has since re-armed its soldiers in the previously unarmed areas of the Demilitarized Zone. South Korea's national security advisor, Kim Tae-hyo, predicted that North Korea would launch an ICBM in December. The specific type of long-range missile launched is still unknown, but North Korea's latest ICBM model is the solid-fueled Hwasong-18. North Korea is also developing a new solid-fueled medium-range ballistic missile, with successful engine tests but no successful launches yet. As North Korea continues to strengthen its nuclear arsenal, South Korea and the US are increasing their defense efforts in the region. During a recent meeting in Washington, officials updated contingency plans for responding to a nuclear attack from North Korea and also agreed to include nuclear weapons in their military exercises next summer.