New N. Korea nuclear, ICBM testing would trigger instant crisis, S.Korea's Moon says

FILE PHOTO: People look at North Korea's propaganda village Kaepoong through binoculars from the top of the Aegibong Peak Observatory, south of the demilitarised zone (DMZ), separating the two Koreas in Gimpo, South Korea, October 5, 2021. REUTERS/Kim Hong-Ji/

SEOUL (Reuters) -A resumption of North Korea's nuclear weapon or long-range missile tests would "instantly" send the peninsula back into crisis, outgoing South Korean President Moon Jae-in said this week, calling for measures to prevent that from happening.

A record month of North Korean missile testing https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/nkorea-says-tested-hwasong-12-missile-sunday-2022-01-30 in January highlighted failures of Moon's efforts to engineer a breakthrough as his term ends in May, and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has suggested https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/nkorea-warns-it-may-rethink-moratorium-nuclear-missile-tests-2022-01-19 he could order new nuclear tests or intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) launches for the first time since 2017.