North Korea confirmed it has test-fired a Hwasong-12 intermediate-range ballistic missile on Sunday, its state-run media reported, as Washington urges Pyongyang to engage in direct talks with no preconditions. Pyongyang conducted its seventh missile test this month, the largest number in a single month since 2019. South Korea and Japan claimed that the projectile traveled 1,242 miles upward and landed in the ocean about 500 miles away. South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said the missile was fired from Pyongyang’s Jagang Province at approximately 7:52 a.m. local time and traveled at speeds of up to 16 times the speed of sound. The Hwasong-12 ground-to-ground intermediate and long-range ballistic missile was launched for evaluation and verification of “the overall accuracy of the weapon system,” state media Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said. KCNA claimed that the test was conducted at “the highest angle firing system” to ensure the security of the …