North Korea conducts engine test for missile capable of targeting US mainland

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un observed a test of a high-thrust, solid-fuel engine for weapons and hailed it as a development to boost the country’s strategic military capability, state media reported Sunday.

The test likely indicates Kim is intent on enlarging and modernizing an arsenal of missiles capable of reaching the United States mainland.

The report on Sunday from Korean Central News Agency came days after Kim delivered a speech at North Korea’s Parliament pledging to irreversibly cement his country’s status as a nuclear power and accusing the US of global “state terrorism and aggression,” in an apparent reference to the war in the Middle East.

Kim watched the ground jet test of the newly upgraded engine using a composite carbon fiber material, according to KCNA, which reported the engine’s maximum trust is 2. 5 million tons, up from about 1.

97 million tons reported in a similar solid fuel engine test in September. A push to increase the engine power is likely associated with efforts to place multiple warheads on a single missile to increase chances of defeating US defenses, observers say.

KCNA did not report exactly when or where the test occurred. The test was conducted as part of the country’s five-year military escalation program. The plan’s objectives include upgrading “strategic strike means,” KCNA reported.

The reference is understood to mean nuclear-capable, intercontinental ballistic missiles targeting the continental US.

Kim said the latest engine test had “great significance in putting the country’s strategic military muscle on the highest level,” KCNA reported.