Is North Korea missile tests, a threat to the international community?

Several missile tests were carried out by North Korea since the 1980s. It was in 1984 the first missile testing was carried out, which is a Scud-B missile test firing. Since 2020 nearly 147 strategic missile tests have been conducted.

      It was on 11 and 12 of September 2021, a new long-range cruise missile was tested. Nuclear warheads were assembled to this cruise missile. Speaking of cruise missiles, they are the weapons used against terrestrial targets which travel at a constant speed and are designed to deliver a warhead over long distances. They are self-navigating and follow a low-altitude trajectory. According to KCNA statements, the tests saw missiles travelling up to 1,500km(930 miles) and flight paths including figure 8 patterns. US sanctions regarding missile tests remain questionable. However, some of the reports also suggest that UN security council sanctions prohibit North Korea from testing ballistic missiles and not cruise missiles. Not much later, a second weapon test using two ballistic missiles were carried out which travels around 800km. A reactor that produces plutonium for nuclear weapons was started by North Korea last month

      Major concerns of this act are in neighbouring countries like Japan and South Korea. South Korea increased its alert level and is in cooperation with the US. Japan responded to this launch as "outrageous" and a threat to peace.

    Despite the above concerns, the big question is what is the intention of these consecutive missile launches when the country is suffering from severe food shortages, economic regression and forced lockdown due to the covid19 pandemic.