North Korea fires what appears to be longest-range missile since 2017

North Korea has fired what appeared to be the most powerful missile it has tested since US President Joe Biden took office.

The Japanese and South Korean militaries said the missile was launched on a lofted trajectory, apparently to avoid the territorial spaces of neighbours, and reached a maximum altitude of 2,000 kilometres (1,242 miles) and travelled 800 kilometres (497 miles) before landing in the sea.

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 flight-tested three intercontinental-range ballistic missiles (ICBMs) that demonstrated the potential range to reach deep.