North Korea confirmed firing a Hwasong-12 "mid-range ballistic missile" on Monday, the first time it has tested such a weapon since 2017. The South Korean military said Sunday that it had detected the launch of an intermediate-range ballistic missile, Pyongyang's seventh weapons test in January. North Korea has never tested this many missiles in a single calendar month before, and last week threatened to end a nearly five-year-long self-imposed moratorium on long-range and nuclear weapons testing, blaming the US "hostile" policy for forcing its hand. 

"The Hwasong 12-type ground-to-ground intermediate- and long-range ballistic missile evaluation test-fire was conducted on Sunday," according to the official Korean Central News Agency.

According to KCNA, the test "confirmed the accuracy, security, and effectiveness of the operation of the Hwasong 12-type weapon system in production."

According to KCNA, the test was conducted using the "highest-angle launch system" to ensure the safety of neighboring countries, and the warhead contained a camera that took photos while in space.

North Korea has doubled down on leader Kim Jong Un's pledge to modernize the regime's armed forces, flexing Pyongyang's military muscles despite biting international sanctions.

South Korea said on Sunday that North Korea appeared to be following a "similar pattern" to 2017, when tensions on the peninsula were at an all-time high, and that Pyongyang could soon resume nuclear and intercontinental missile tests. Pyongyang last tested an intermediate-range missile, the Hwasong-12, in 2017, which analysts said at the time was powerful enough to reach the US territory of Guam.

The series of launches in 2022 comes at a critical juncture in the region, with Kim's sole major ally, China, hosting the Winter Olympics next month and South Korea preparing for a presidential election in March.