North Korea confirmed on Monday that it fired a Hwasong-12 intermediate-range ballistic missile at the weekend, the first time it had performed such a launch since 2017. The Hwasong-12 missile was fired on Sunday to test its accuracy and effectiveness for use, North Korean state media KCNA reported. It said the missile was in the production phase. According to experts, the Hwasong-12 has a range of 4,500 kilometres and could, theoretically, reach the US Pacific island of Guam, about 3,400 kilometres away, where the US has a military base. Photographs from Sunday’s launch, released by KCNA, wer…