Leader Kim Jong-un oversaw a test of a solid-fuel engine used for long range nuclear missiles, state media reported, marking another key step in in a weapons programme Western powers have failed to stop.
State media said it was the ninth and final test of the engine, indicating that a full test-fire of a new intercontinental ballistic missile may be done in coming months.
Kim oversaw the “important test”, the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported yesterday, with images showing him looking at the flame from the engine test with binoculars.
It was a “ground jet test of high-thrust solid-fuel engine using the composite carbon fibre material,” KCNA said, adding that it was “the last one in the development process”.
KCNA quoted Kim as saying the new rocket engine “heralds a significant change in expanding and strengthening the nuclear strategic forces” of North Korea.
The engine test came a week after the North unveiled its new Hwasong-20, billed as its next-generation ICBM.
The test “indicates the production of a solid-fuel engine to be used for the new ICBM,” said Yang Moo-jin, former president of the University of North Korean Studies in Seoul.
By describing it as the “last” stage of development, Pyongyang is pointing to “a probable test launch of its new ICBM soon,” Yang said, adding that a launch this year is highly plausible.
North Korea has become one of Russia’s main allies since it invaded Ukraine in 2022, sending troops and weapons.
Analysts have speculated that the North is receiving Russian technical support for its banned weapons and satellite programmes in exchange, allowing for more rapid progress on its missile development projects. — AFP
