But Mr Narang cautioned against underestimating the importance of any technological advances. “If you get comfortable in one range then you can start to think about incorporating them into the long-range [systems],” he said.

Ankit Panda, an adjunct senior fellow at the Federation of American Scientists, said North Korea had effectively been modernising its older Scud missiles to cover targets in the ranges of 200 to 600km.

“I’m of the view that every North Korean weapons test is done for multiple reasons, never just one,” he said. “On one hand, Kim is letting his munitions industry stretch their legs after a long testing moratorium through the diplomacy that took place in 2018,” added Mr Panda.

“On the other, he’s reminding the United States and South Korea that the longer diplomacy falters—primarily due to American obstinance on the issue of sanctions relief—North Korea’s capabilities will improve. The message is simple: the longer you wait, the more dangerous we’ll get.”

What comes next - diplomacy or escalation?

Despite Kim’s defiant summer of missile tests, analysts widely agree that the departure of John Bolton, the National Security Adviser, from the Trump administration presents a fresh opportunity to resume working level talks.

News of Bolton’s apparent firing, which he insisted was a resignation, emerged a day after Pyongyang offered to come back to the table as long as the US altered its approach “based on a calculation acceptable to us.”

Known for his hawkish approach to North Korea, Mr Bolton had long been a target of Pyongyang’s ire, and was described by its state media as recently as May as a “human defect” and a “war monger.”

However, Mr Bolton’s views on North Korea also clashed with the president’s. In contrast to Mr Trump, he declared the short-range missile tests a violation of UN Security Council resolutions. His hardline approach was also saddled with some of the blame for the collapse of the Hanoi summit between Mr Trump and Kim in February.