North Korea has tested a ‘high-thrust solid-fuel motor’, state media reported on Friday, as the isolated country seeks to develop a new strategic weapon and speeds up its nuclear and missile programmes.
The test, overseen by leader Kim Jong Un, was conducted on Thursday at North Korea’s Sohae Satellite Launching Ground, the official KCNA news agency said.
The test proved the motor’s reliability and stability, providing a ‘guarantee for the development of another new-type strategic weapon system’.
North Korea has been working to build more solid-fuel missiles, which are more stable and can be launched with almost no warning or preparation time.
Kim Jong Un looks delighted amid a successful test of a ‘high-thrust solid fuel motor’ in North Korea
View of a ‘high-thrust solid-fuel motor’ test to develop a new strategic weapon, at the Sohae Satellite Launching Ground in Tongchang-ri, North Korea
After overseeing the test, Kim expressed ‘expectation that another new-type strategic weapon would be made in the shortest span of time,’ according to KCNA.
North Korea has conducted an unprecedented number of missile tests this year, including an intercontinental ballistic missile capable of reaching the U.S. mainland, despite international bans and sanctions.
In March, Kim visited the Sohae site and called for expansion of the facility which has been used to test various missile technologies, including static rocket engines and space launch vehicles.
The latest test comes as International Atomic Energy Agency chief Rafael Grossi is in Seoul for talks with South Korean officials during which he vowed an all-out effort to stop North Korea’s nuclear programme.
North Korean leader leader Kim Jong Un guides a ‘high-thrust solid-fuel motor’ test
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un inspects the set-up of a ‘high-thrust solid-fuel motor’ test as part of the development of a new strategic weapon, at the Sohae Satellite Launching Ground in Tongchang-ri, North Korea, December 15, 2022
During his meeting with Grossi, South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol expressed concerns over North Korea’s ‘race’ to advance its nuclear and missile programmes, calling for the U.N. agency’s cooperation to deter Pyongyang from further provocations.
South Korean and U.S. officials have said the North has completed preparations for a potential nuclear test, which would be the first since 2017.
At two recent test launches of the pariah state’s ballistic missiles, Kim Jong Un unveiled a daughter to the world, deepening the debate over whether she’s being primed as a successor.
The daughter, believed to be Kim’s second child named Ju Ae and about nine or ten years old, was first unveiled to the outside world in state media photos showing her observing the North’s intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) launch with her parents in mid November.
Ae was shown walking hand-in-hand with Kim past a huge missile loaded on a launch truck and watching a soaring weapon.
Then the North’s official Korean Central News Agency mentioned her for the second time in late November saying she and Kim took group photos with scientists, officials and others involved in what it called the test-launch of its Hwasong-17 ICBM.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has brought his daughter Ju Ae out in public again, deepening the debate over whether she’s being primed as a successor
Kim and his daughter share a loving look as scientists and workers cheer on
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has brought his daughter Ju Ae out in public again, deepening the debate over whether she’s being primed as a successor
KCNA described her as Kim’s ‘most beloved’ or ‘precious’ child, a more honorific title than her previous description of ‘(Kim’s) beloved’ child on its November 19 dispatch.
State media-released photos showed the daughter in a long, black coat holding her father’s arm as the two posed for a photo.
In comments published by state media, Kim called the Hwasong-17 ‘the world’s strongest strategic weapon’ and said his country’s ultimate goal is possessing ‘the world’s most powerful strategic force.’
Experts say the Hwasong-17 is North Korea’s longest-range missile – designed to strike the mainland U.S. – but is still under development.
Its launch was part of a barrage of missile tests that North Korea says were meant to issue a warning over U.S.-South Korean military drills that it views as an invasion rehearsal.