North Korean leader Kim Jong Un oversaw a test of a solid-fuel engine designed for an intercontinental ballistic missile, officials said on Tuesday.
North Korea is rapidly expanding its nuclear arsenal and extending the range of its nuclear-capable intercontinental ballistic missile programme.
This comes after Kim held bilateral meetings with the Russian president and the Chinese president during an annual military parade in Beijing.
Russia has reportedly pledged technical support to North Korea for its missile and naval fleet modernisation programme, while China has recently offered to provide communications equipment, radar systems and the latest anti-air defence systems to Pyongyang.
On Tuesday, the country’s Missile Administration said it had “conducted another ground jet test of a high-thrust solid-fuel engine using composite carbon fibre material on September 8.”
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Officials said, “The respected Comrade Kim Jong Un oversaw the important test.” It was described as the “ninth ground jet test” and “the last one in the development process.”
North Korea has for many years carried out tests of long-range missiles apparently capable of reaching the United States.
Pyongyang has repeatedly insisted it has no intention of giving up its nuclear weapons this year, and recently called South Korean president Lee Jae Myung a “hypocrite” over his remarks urging a “path to denuclearisation.”
In August, Pyongyang declared: “The North would remain unchanged in its stance and would not abandon nuclear weapons, the prestige, honour and security guarantee of its people.”
Tensions between the North and South have escalated, particularly after the US and South Korean forces conducted a ten-day military drill near the North Korean border.
While the South Korean president called for de-escalation and a normalisation of relations, Kim Jong Un and other North Korean leaders dismissed the idea, saying it was an impossible goal.
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