North Korea launched two ballistic missiles on Sunday, days after Pyongyang announced a successful test of a solid-fuel engine to develop a new weapons system.
South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said it detected ballistic missiles fired from the Tongchang-ri area in North Pyongan province (northwest) into the East Sea, also known as the South Japan Sea.
“Our military has increased vigilance and vigilance while closely cooperating with the United States and remaining fully prepared,” the South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff added in a statement.
A “high thrust solid fuel engine”
The launch comes as Pyongyang announced on Friday that it had tested a “high-thrust solid-fuel engine,” which its state media KCNA described as an important test “for the development of a strategic weapons system of a new type.”
Despite heavy international sanctions on its weapons programs, Pyongyang has built an arsenal of intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs).
However, all of its ICBMs run on liquid fuel. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un sees the development of solid fuel engines to convert more advanced missiles as a strategic priority.
Kim Jong Un said in 2022 that he wanted North Korea to have the most powerful nuclear force in the world, declaring his country’s status as a nuclear state “irreversible.” Among his goals revealed in 2021 is the development of solid-fuel intercontinental ballistic missiles that could be launched from land or submarines.
The engine test announced Friday was a step toward achieving this goal, but experts don’t know what stage North Korea is in developing such missiles.
An upcoming key meeting for the future of the country
The isolated country’s political orientations for 2023 will be laid out in December at a key party meeting. KCNA reported that according to Kim Jong Un, the year 2023 will be a “historic year.”
For several years now, the leader had delivered a speech on January 1 before breaking this tradition in favor of announcements during this year-end plenary meeting.
In his most recent speech, released on the last day of the New Year, he focused on home affairs. Experts say that while Kim Jong Un refrained from directly addressing the United States last time, he may change his tune this time around.
Pyongyang has conducted a record-breaking series of weapons tests this year, including its most advanced intercontinental ballistic missile. The United States and South Korea have been warning for months that North Korea may be planning what would be its seventh nuclear test in its history and the first in five years.
North Korea has been under multiple United Nations Security Council sanctions over its nuclear and missile programs since 2006.
Source: BFM TV
