On Dec 18, North Korea test-fired a Hwasong-18, its most advanced intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM). The missile, which is theoretically capable of reaching anywhere in the United States, flew 1000km before plunging into the waters west of Japan’s Hokkaido island.

Dubbed a “major success” by North Korean state media, the Hwasong-18 missile left not just a massive plume of smoke in its wake but also a series of questions on its significance for further shifts in geopolitical alignments and implications for regional security.