Seoul confirms Pyongyang is testing a rocket engine
SYDNEY: South Korea’s defence minister said yesterday that North Korea’s recent unspecified weapons test was of a rocket engine, amid speculation the North was making preliminary steps toward a prohibited long-range rocket launch.
Defence Minister Jeong Kyeong-doo said during a visit to Sydney yesterday that Seoul expressed its “deep concerns” over the engine test and North Korea’s recent ballistic missile launches into the sea, according to his office in Seoul.
It was the first official outside assessment of what North Korea called “a very important test” at its Tongchang-ri rocket launch site. The North’s Academy of National Defence Science said on Sunday the test will have “an important effect on changing the strategic position” of North Korea.
Mr Jeong didn’t elaborate on what the engine test was for but urged North Korea to stop “acts that escalate military tensions”.
Many experts say the reported test indicates North Korea is preparing to launch a satellite-carrying rocket in a disguised test of long-range missile technology amid faltering US-led diplomacy on ending the North Korean nuclear crisis.
The diplomacy has been stalemated for months, with North Korea pressing the United States to make concessions by year’s end. North Korea has hinted at abandoning diplomacy and resuming nuclear and intercontinental ballistic missile tests, if the US fails to meet that deadline. Experts say the North will likely opt for a satellite liftoff because it can repeat its argument that it has a right to peaceful space development and draw support from China and Russia. Also, President Donald Trump has touted the North’s moratorium on ICBM and nuclear tests as his major foreign policy achievement.