North Korea said on January 15 that it tested ballistic missiles from a train, in evident retaliation for new penalties placed by the Biden government. The North's state media story came the day after South Korea's troops said it discovered the North launching 2 missiles into the sea in its 3rd weapons release this month. The launch came just hours after Pyongyang's Foreign Ministry chastised the US for implementing additional sanctions in response to the North's past trials and threatened greater and more expressive activity if Washington maintained its 'confrontational stance.'

North Korea has been ramping up tests of new missiles intended to overwhelm missile defenses in the region in recent months, despite pandemic-related border closures and a halt in nuclear diplomacy with the US. According to some experts, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un is reverting to a tried-and-true strategy of pressuring the US and neighbors with missile launches and absurd dangers before offering negotiations to extract compromises.