SEOUL, South Korea (AP) \u2014 North Korean leader Kim Jong Un supervised the test of a \u201chigh-thrust solid-fuel motor\u201d for a new strategic weapon, state media reported Friday, a development that could allow him to possess a more mobile, harder-to-detect arsenal of intercontinental ballistic missiles that can reach the mainland U.S.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Thursday\u2019s \u201cstatic firing test\u201d of a missile engine at the country\u2019s northwest rocket launch facility was the first of its kind in North Korea, the official Korean Central News Agency reported. It said that the test provided \u201ca sure sci-tech guarantee for the development of another new-type strategic weapon system.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Kim praised scientists and technicians over the test, saying he expected the new weapon would be built \u201cin the shortest span of time,\u201d KCNA said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
North Korea is likely referring to a solid-fueled ICBM, which is among an array of high-tech weapons systems that Kim vowed to introduce during a major ruling Workers\u2019 Party conference early last year. Other\u00a0weapons systems Kim promised to manufacture\u00a0include a multi-warhead missile, underwater-launched nuclear missiles and spy satellites.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The latest motor test showed that North Korea is determined to carry out Kim\u2019s vows to develop such sophisticated weapons systems\u00a0despite its pandemic-related domestic hardships\u00a0and U.S.-led international pressures to curb its nuclear program. In recent months, North Korea has test-fired a barrage of nuclear-capable ballistic missiles including\u00a0last month\u2019s launch\u00a0of its developmental, longest-range liquid-fueled Hwasong-17 ICBM designed to carry multiple warheads.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Some experts say North Korea would eventually use an expanded arsenal to seek sanctions relief and other concessions from the United States.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe\u2019d been expecting a test of this kind for a while. Large-diameter, solid propellant rocket motors will enable North Korea to deploy larger submarine-launched missiles and, more importantly, more survivable and responsive intercontinental-range ballistic missiles,\u201d said Ankit Panda, an expert with the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cUnlike liquid propellant missiles, solid propellant missiles are fueled at the time of manufacture and can thus be released far more quickly in a war, all else being equal,\u201d Panda said. \u201cI wouldn\u2019t be surprised if they\u2019d look to do additional testing and development of these motors before moving to flight-testing.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The fuel in solid-propellant rockets is already loaded inside, which helps to shorten launch preparation times, increase the weapon\u2019s mobility and make it harder for outsiders to detect what\u2019s happening before liftoff. North Korea already has a growing arsenal of short-range, solid-fueled ballistic missiles targeting key locations in South Korea, including U.S. military bases there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
KCNA said Thursday\u2019s test was meant to verify specific technical features of the motor based on \u201cthe thrust vector controlling technology\u201d and that the test showed all the technical indices proved its reliability and stability.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The technology refers to an ability to allow rockets to steer directions with the gimballing of exhaust nozzles, some analysts said after examining North Korea-dispatched photos of the test.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
That\u2019s a much more advanced method of thrust vectoring than a previous method traditionally used on the North\u2019s shorter-range solid motor missiles, said Joseph Dempsey, research associate for defense and military analysis at the International Institute for Strategic Studies. He said while more efficient gimbaled nozzles may help maximize range, they are also more suitable for an ICBM.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cTesting a gimbaled nozzle could therefore represent an important technological waypoint toward North Korea\u2019s stated goal of a solid motor ICBM,\u201d Dempsey said. \u201cHowever what other technical challenges remain and how far away a flight test of such a system is remains unknown.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The North\u2019s claim couldn\u2019t be independently verified. But the country has likely experienced \u201cconsiderable trials and errors\u201d before Thursday\u2019s test because it\u2019s technologically more difficult to make large-sized solid-fueled motors than liquid-fueled ones, said Chang Young-keun, a missile expert at Korea Aerospace University in South Korea.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
If the North\u2019s motor test made the reported progress as it claimed, the country would be able to test-fire a solid-fueled ICBM within the first half of next year, Chang said. If North Korea uses the technology to build an ICBM-class missile that can be fired from a submarine, that would equip the North with a threatening secondary, retaliatory attack capability against the United States, he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The exact status of North Korea\u2019s nuclear attack capability remains in secrecy, as all its intercontinental ballistic missile tests in recent years have been carried out at a steep angle to avoid neighboring countries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Some\u00a0experts speculate North Korea\u00a0already has functioning nuclear-tipped missiles that can hit the entire U.S., given the number of years it has spent on its nuclear program. But others say country is still years away from acquiring such weapons, saying it has yet to publicly prove it has a technology to protect warheads from the harsh conditions of atmospheric reentry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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