North Korea tests solid-fuel engine for hypersonic missile

North Korea tested a solid-fuel engine for its new hypersonic intermediate-range ballistic missile, state media said Wednesday, a move likely aimed at bolstering the country’s strike capabilities against US bases in Asia, Report informs via Bloomberg.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un oversaw the test Tuesday, and touted the new weapon as a strategic asset comparable in significance to an intercontinental ballistic missile, the official Korean Central News Agency said.

Kim said “the military strategic value of this weapon system is appreciated as important as ICBM ... and enemies know better about it,” KCNA reported. State media released photos of the test where leader Kim was seen smiling or applauding.

The test comes a day after North Korea fired multiple ballistic missiles in a defiant show of force that coincided with a visit to Seoul by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken for a Summit for Democracy.

An intermediate-range ballistic missile is built to fly far enough to hit all of Japan, where the US has positioned tens of thousands of troops, and US military facilities in Guam, where the Pentagon says it keeps one of America’s largest munitions depots in the world.

North Korea last fired an intermediate-range ballistic missile in January, which it had said was loaded with a “hypersonic maneuverable controlled warhead” that can change its flight path at high speeds. The launch followed “new-type high-thrust solid-fuel engine” tests in November.

Experts said Tuesday’s test appears aimed at checking the engine’s reliability and extended burn time, which would allow a longer flight range for the missile.

“They could have made improvements on defects found at their January test-launch,” said Shin Jong-woo, a researcher at the Korea Defense and Security Forum think tank. “Kim Jong Un’s presence at the test site indicates that the engine development is near complete.”

Solid-fuel ballistic missiles generally take less time to prepare launches, making them harder to detect before taking off.