North Korea tests high-thrust rocket engine
Test apparently timed to coincide with the visit of US Secretary of State Tillerson to Beijing
North Korea has tested a powerful new rocket engine, state media said yesterday, with leader Kim Jong-un hailing the successful test as a “new birth” for the nation’s rocket industry.
The test was apparently timed to coincide with the visit of US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson to Beijing Saturday, where he warned that regional tensions had reached a “dangerous level”.
State news agency said Kim had overseen the operation, and “emphasised that the whole world will soon witness what eventful significance the great victory won today carries”, KCNA reported, hinting that the North could use the new engine to launch a rocket to put a satellite in orbit.
Rocket engines are easily repurposed for use in missiles.
Outside observers say that the nuclear-armed Pyongyang’s space programme is a fig leaf for weapons tests.
“The development and completion of a new-type highthrust engine would help consolidate the scientific and technological foundation to match the world-level satellite delivery capability in the field of outer space development,” KCNA reported.
“The leader (Kim) noted that the success made in the current test marked a great event of historic significance as it declared a new birth of the Juchebased rocket industry.”
On Saturday, the US and China pledged to work together to address the threat posed by North Korea’s nuclear programme. Tillerson has also visited US allies Japan and South Korea where he said the US would no longer observe the “failed” approach of patient diplomacy with Pyongyang, warning that American military action against the North was “on the table”. The tougher US talk followed two North Korean nuclear tests last year and recent missile launches that Pyongyang described as practice for an attack on US bases in Japan.
The last ground test of a high-powered rocket engine was last September.