NoKor conducts rocket engine test

SEOUL (AFP) — North Korea has tested a rocket engine that could be fitted to an intercontinental ballistic missile, a US official said, in an apparent provocation ahead of a summit between US President Donald Trump and the leader of South Korea.

South Korea President Moon Jae-in heads to Washington next week to meet Trump for the first time since taking office in May, as tensions soar on the Korean peninsula over Kim Jong-un’s nuclear weapons program.

The US official confirmed to AFP that Pyongyang tested a rocket engine on Thursday, on condition of anonymity and without providing further details.

Political science professor Yoo Ho-yeol at Korea University said the test was “a carefully calibrated act of provocation ahead of the summit.”

The North Korean regime will closely follow the meeting to gauge Seoul and Washington’s future course of action concerning Pyongyang’s pursuit of nuclear arsenal and missile development, he told AFP.

“The North has been building up missile capability for decades. The general consensus among experts here is that if left unchecked, the North would be able to have ICBMs in the near future,” Yoo said.

Yesterday, Moon also oversaw the test-firing of a home-grown missile with a range of 800 kilometers.

AP The Hyunmoo-2 is test-fired from a mobile launch pad in South Korea yesterday. South Korean President Moon Jae-in observed the test-firing of a new midrange missile the country is developing to cope with growing threats from North Korea.