North Korea's missile test intensifies Trump's 2018 dilemma

THE North Korean regime test-fired, for the first time in over two months, on Wednesday an intercontinental missile (ICBM) which flew higher than any yet by Pyongyang. The launch, condemned by US President Donald Trump who said he "would take care of the situation", adds to his 2018 headache over how best to tackle Pyongyang's provocations.

The missile test comes a week after Mr Trump declared North Korea a state sponsor of terrorism, and a day before Thursday's start of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation in Sochi. That latter session will feature not just the host, Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev, but also other key players with a stake in the Korea stand-off including Chinese Premier Li Keqiang, and Indian External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj.

The missile reached a height of some 4,500 kilometres and landed around 1,000 kilometres from the west coast of Japan. If it has flown on a standard trajectory rather than a lofted one, the US Union of Concerned Scientists has calculated it would have had a range of 13,000 kilometres which is enough to strike Europe, Australia, or any part of the continental United States.