Kim Jong Un, North Korea's leader, supervised the ground test of a new solid-fuel missile engine with thrust reaching 2,500 kilonewtons, while also inspecting new tank models and special forces training, reaffirming plans to upgrade the entire strategic military forces.
The Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported today (29 Mar) that Kim Jong Un, the supreme leader of North Korea, inspected the ground test of a new high-thrust solid-fuel missile engine made with carbon fiber composite materials. This test achieved a maximum thrust of 2,500 kilonewtons, a significant increase from the last test in September last year, which produced 1,971 kilonewtons.
Kim Jong Un stated that this test is critically important for elevating military capabilities to the highest level and aligns with the national strategy to modernize strategic forces. He emphasized that technological progress and economic efficiency will accelerate continuous changes in defense.
Additionally, KCNA reported that the North Korean leader has set a key mission to rapidly develop the strategic forces both in quality and quantity.
Experts analyze that this engine was developed for the intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) model 'Hwasong-20', which is currently under development. Kim described this achievement as a major step in modernizing the country's strategic forces according to the five-year national defense development plan.
Furthermore, the leader visited the performance test of a new main battle tank conducted by the Armored Weapons Institute. The test results confirmed that the installed anti-tank weapon interception system has a 100% success rate in neutralizing incoming attacks from various directions.
On the same day, Kim Jong Un traveled to a special operations training base to observe exercises of small combat units at various levels. He ordered an accelerated upgrade of the state's strategic forces in both quality and quantity to align with current national security strategies.
/sourceYonhap