N. KOREA

North Korea staged its first ballistic missile test of the year, but it was not the intercontinental missile that dictator Kim Jong-un had earlier boasted was almost ready to test. Kim was at the site to observe the launch and gave the order to fire the Pukguksong-2, which state media said was a “Korean style new-type strategic weapon system”. The North conducted two nuclear tests and several rocket launches last year. Kim said the country was in the final stages of readiness to test an ICBM, which would be a major step forward in its efforts to build a credible threat to the United States.