North Korea missile tests - a timeline

This year alone, North Korea has attempted 17 missile launches. The Nuclear Threat Initiative (NTI) maintains a database and analysis of North Korea's ballistic missile testing, along with its successes and failures, if they are known.

• Timeline: American attempts to deter North Korea's nuclear program
  

In early September 2017, North Korea appeared to be planning another missile launch, possibly of an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) to show off its claimed ability to target the United States with nuclear weapons, South Korea's Defense Ministry reported.

• A timeline of North Korea's nuclear tests

Here's the list of North Korea's missile tests -- short-, medium- and long-range -- going back to its first test in 1984.

2017

• February 12th, 2017: North Korea launches intermediate-range Polaris-2 (or KN-15) ballistic missile into the East Sea, also known as the Sea of Japan. 
  
• March 6th, 2017:  North Korea fires four extended-range Scud (or Scud ER) ballistic missiles from just 200 miles from Japan
  
• March 22nd, 2017: North Korea fires a missile from its east cost, but the rocket fails. The missile is believed to be either a Musudan, an intermediate range missile which keeps failing, or the older medium-range Scud ER.
• April 5th, 2017:  North Korea fires an intermediate-range Hwasong-12 (also known as a KN-17) ballistic missile. Seoul's Joint Chiefs of Staff say in a statement that the missile fired from the North's eastern coastal town of Sinpo flew about 37 miles. 
• April 16th, 2017: North Korea fires another Hwasong-12 missile from the Sinpo Shipyard. "The launch failed very early on, so that makes it harder to know exactly what they were trying to do," Susan Thornton, acting assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific Affairs, says of the launch. 
• April 29th, 2017: North Korea launches another Hwasong-12. Once again, the missile explodes shortly after liftoff. 
• May 15th, 2017: North Korea fires off yet another Hwasong-12, and say this test was successful. They also claim it is capable of delivering a nuclear warhead to U.S. territories. It travelled some 400 miles before touching down in the Sea of Japan. 
• May 21st, 2017: North Korea fires a medium-range Polaris-2 missile. Although the missile is designed to be fired from a submarine, this was a land-based test, and was successful. The launch came after South Korean President Moon announced the appointment of national security aides and the nominee for a new foreign minister. 
• May 29th, 2017: North Korea fires a modified Scud missile, its third test in three weeks. 
• July 4th, 2017: North Korea claims to have successfully tested its first intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM). North Korean state television called it an historic event as Kim Jong Un reportedly oversaw the successful launch that the North is calling the Hwasong-14.
• July 28th, 2017:  North Korea test-fires its second intercontinental ballistic missile, which flew longer and higher than the first test. According to Japanese government officials it flew for about 45 minutes - about five minutes longer than the ICBM North Korea test-fired on July 4.
• August 25th, 2017: North Korea fires three unidentified short-range missiles, one of which is believed to have exploded shortly after takeoff. The three missiles were launched in a span of 30 minutes. 
• August 28th, 2017: North Korea launches a missile that flies over Japan. South Korea said the missile flew 1,677 miles and reached a maximum height of 341 miles.

2016

• Feb. 7, 2016: North Korea fires a long-range rocket from the Dongchang-ri launch site. The rocket was fired from North Korea's west coast and tracked separately by the governments Japan and South Korea. South Korean media reported that the rocket may have failed, but provided no other details. 
• March 10th, 2016: North Korea fires two Scud missiles. They flew for roughly 300 miles before crashing into the sea, according to the BBC. 

• March 18th, 2016: North Korea launches what appeared to be two mid-range Nodong ballistic missiles from its western province. South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement that the missiles flew 500 miles before crashing off the North's east coast on Friday.
• April 15th, 2016: North Korea conducts its first test-launch of an intermediate-range Musudan ballistic missile, also known as the BM-25, but the launch ended in failure.
  
• April 23rd, 2016: North Korea test-fires an SLBM in the East Sea, which flew only about 30 kilometers from a submarine off its northeast coast
• April 28th, 2016: North Korea launches two intermediate-range Musudan ballistic missiles, but the launches ended in failure.
  
• May 31st, 2016: North Korea test-fires an intermediate-range Musudan ballistic missile, but the launch ends in failure.
  
• June 22nd, 2016: North Korea fires off two intermediate-range Musudan ballistic missiles which managed to launch about 620 miles high after several failed attempts in recent months.
• July 9th, 2016: North Korea launches an SLBM off its east coast, but Seoul said the missile appeared to explode at an altitude of some 10 kilometers.
  
• July 18th, 2016: North Korea fires two Scuds and one medium-range Nodong missile. 
• August 2nd, 2016: North Korea fires-off two mid-range Nodong ballistic missiles from near the southwestern area. One missile flew about 1,000 kilometers before falling into Japan's exclusive economic zone. 
• August 24th, 2016: North Korea fires a Polaris-1 missile from a submarine, which experts say is a significant leap forward in terms of capability for the country. 
• September 5th, 2016: North Korea fires off three modified Scud missiles, or Scud ERs, on the final day of the G-20 meeting of rich countries. 
• October 14th, 2016: North Korea fires off an intermediate-range Musudan ballistic missile, but it exploded after the launch. 
• October 19th, 2016: North Korea launches another Musudan missile, which also fails. 

2015

• February 8th, 2015: North Korea launches five short-range missiles from the coastal town of Wosan. The flew roughly 125 miles before crashing into the sea. 
  
• March 1st, 2015: North Korea launches two Scud missiles into its eastern sea in protest of U.S. military drills with South Korea. 
  
• April 2-3, 2015: North Korea launches five short-range missiles off its west coast. Analysts say the rockets have a distance of about 87 miles. 
  
• May 8th, 2015: North Korea successfully fires a submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM), the Polaris-1, from the Sinpo Shipyard. 
  
• November 28th, 2015: North Korea attempts to launch another Polaris-1. However, this launch was unsuccessful. 
  
• December 21st, 2015: North Korea claims that it successfully launched another Polaris-1 SLBM. 
  

2014

North Korea had no known missile failures in 2014, according to NTI. However, all of the launches observed involved short-range SCUD or KN-02 missiles or medium-range Nodongs. The North did not test a multi-stage long-range missile this year. 

• February 27th, 2014: North Korea fires four short-range Scud missiles from its Kittaeryong Missile Base to protest U.S./South Korean military exercises. 
• March 3rd, 2014: North Korea fires two short-range Scud missiles from Wonsan Kalma International Airport. 
• March 26th, 2014: Amid an international meeting in the Netherlands to discuss North Korea's nuclear threat, the country launched two medium-range Nodong missiles into the sea between itself and Japan. The missiles were fired from Sunchon airbase and travelled some 403 miles before crashing. 
• June 26-29, 2014: North Korea fires three short-range ballistic missiles into the sea. 
• July 9th, 2014: North Korea fires two short-range Scud missiles from Hwangju. 
• July 13th, 2014: North Korea fires to short-range Scud missiles from Kaesong. 
• July 26th, 2014: North Korea fires another Scud. 
• August 14th, 2014: North Korea fires a short-range KN-02 missile from North Wonsan while Pope Francis visits South Korea. 
• September 1st, 2014: North Korea fires another KN-02 missile from North Wonsan. 
• September 1st, 2014: North Korea fires another KN-02 missile from North Wonsan. 

2013

• May 18-20, 2013: After a period of relative silence, North Korea fires six KN-02 short-range missiles from North Wonsan. 
  

2012

• April 12th, 2012: An Unha-3 missile is fired from the Sohae Satellite Launching Station in North Pyongyan Province. This was Kim Jong Un's first missile test, and it failed, flying about 120 km into the air before it exploded, according to NTI, which also said that although this missile failed, it was seen as embarrassing to President Obama, who had attempted to restart talks for another missile testing moratorium.
  
• December 12th, 2012: Another Unha-3 missile is fired from the Sohae Satellite Launching Station.

2009

• July 5th, 2009: Three years after the 2006 tests, North Korea tested eight missiles. The multi-state Unha failed, exploding in its second or third stage over the Pacific. Two Nodong and five Scud-C missiles were successully launched, NTI notes. 
  

2006

• July 5th, 2006: On Independence Day in the U.S., North Korea tested seven missiles, one similar to the 1998 test that started the moratorium. This one failed 42 seconds into its flight, NTI notes. The other six were successful launches, but there is some dispute over what kind of missiles these were. Some have been counted in NTI's database as Nodong missiles, and others were counted as Scud-C missiles.
  

1998

• August 31st, 1998: This was, according to NTI, one of the most significant missile tests carried out by the North for several reasons. This was Kim Jong Il's first missile test, and the missile was its first multi-stage rocket, the Taepodong-1. This was also the first of the missiles launched to overfly Japan, causing international outrage. Although this launch failed, it did fly about 4000 km before exploding in its third stage. And it nonetheless led to talks between the U.S. and North Korea and a moratorium on missile tests that would last for the next eight years.

1993

• May 29-30, 1993: Four missiles were launched from Tonghae, though not much is known. North Korea appears to have successfully launched a Nodong for the first time, though, notes NTI. Also, several Pakistani and Iranian observers were present -- NTI said that it's possible the North was trying to interest buyers in its missiles.
  

1992

• June: There is not much known about this test launch of a Nodong missile from Tonghae. NDI cites Japanese reports about this missile test, which is likely to have failed early in its flight.
  

1991

• July: The North carried out the successful launch of Scud-C from Chihari Missile Base, in Kangwon-do Province, near the DMZ. According to NTI, this is the sole missile launched from this location. It landed in the Sea of Japan.
  

1990

• May: This was believed to be the North's first test of a Nodong missile, also at Tonghae. It was, according to NTI, observed by U.S. intelligence while it was on the launchpad, but is believed to have had a "catastrophic failure upon launch." 
  
• June: The North carried out its first known test of a Scud-C, which landed in the Sea of Japan. This test was successful.
  

1986

• May: At Tonghae, North Korea may have tested a missile - possibly a Scud-B or Scud-C. NTI cited a statement by the South Korean Defense minister on this launch, but also stated that it is as likely that no launch took place at this time.
  

1984

• April - September: According to NTI, North Korea carried out its first known missile tests -- of Scud-B missiles. These have a range of about 300 km and a payload of at least 500 kg. The North conducted at least six launches at Tonghae Satellite Launching Ground, possibly over the course of several months, rather than days. At least three succeeded and at least three failed.
  

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