On Tuesday, North Korea successfully test fired an unknown ballistic missile, which it claimed as its first intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) that traveled almost 940 km before plunging into the Sea of Japan. The test received condemnation from both America and other world leaders, who once called North Korea as a major global threat. The North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un reportedly described the missile as a gift to the United States on its Independence day. He also told his officials that the United States wouldn’t like the gift.

The US and South Korea responded with a show of force against the North, firing missiles just hours after the ICBM launch as part of a military drill. The American and South Korean militaries have launched surface-to-surface tactical missiles into neutral waters as a show of force against the latest North Korean ballistic test, despite the joint Russian-Chinese warning not to escalate tensions on the peninsula. A statement from the United States’ forces in South Korea, said in a statement, “Eighth US Army and Republic of Korea (ROK) military personnel conducted a combined event exercising assets countering North Korea’s destabilizing and unlawful actions on July 4……This exercise utilized the Army Tactical Missile System (ATACMS) and the Republic of Korea Hyunmoo Missile II, which fired missiles into territorial waters of South Korea along the East Coast”. The US Secretary of State, Rex Tillerson condemned North Korea’s missile test by saying, “The United States strongly condemns North Korea's launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile. Testing an ICBM represents a new escalation of the threat to the United States, our allies and partners, the region, and the world”. He called for global actions against North Korea, which he described as a global threat. The US also called a United Nations Security Council meeting Wednesday to discuss the latest test launch by North Korea.

North Korea is sure to be one of the hottest of topics in this week’s G20 meeting in Hamburg.