Kim Jong Un Tests New Engine To Carry North Korean Hypersonic Missile—Media

North Korea says it has successfully tested a solid-fuel engine for a new intermediate-range missile to be tipped with a highly maneuverable hypersonic payload.

State media said the ground jet test was carried out Tuesday at a rocket launching site in North Pyongan Province. It was overseen by Supreme Leader Kim Jong Un, who praised the planned weapon for its role in the country’s security.

The steady pace of North Korea’s missile tests has added to growing tensions with the South. Pyongyang staged five flight tests for intercontinental ballistic missiles last year, including the solid-fuel Hwasong-18 it claims is capable of striking the continental United States.

In January North Korea launched what it said was its first hypersonic missile, with the South saying it flew 620 miles before landing off the Korean Peninsula’s east coast.

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Solid-fuel propellant provides energy for propulsion without the need for separate fuel and oxidizers. Its compactness, stability and ease of storage make it ideal for missiles, allowing quicker launches and less maintenance.

Kim said the strategic value of the new hypersonic weapon system was on par with ICBMs and that the country’s enemies had better know about it, the Korean Central News Agency cited him as saying.

He was also said to have expressed satisfaction over the progress the hermit kingdom has made on strategic weapons, in line with the five-year plan outlined by North Korea’s rubber-stamp congress in 2021.

The North Korean embassy in Beijing and U.S. Department of Defense did not immediately return written requests for comment.

On Monday North Korea said it had tested “super-sized” multiple-launch rocket systems. During the exercise, which was also attended by Kim, multiple short-range rockets were fired simultaneously at a target island.

True hypersonic missiles are particularly effective weapons, not only because of their speeds of Mach 5 or greater but because they are mounted with highly maneuverable hypersonic glide vehicle payloads that are difficult for traditional missile defense systems to track.

“Kim will continue to prioritize efforts to build a more capable missile force—from cruise missiles through ICBMs, and hypersonic glide vehicles—designed to evade U.S. and regional missile defenses and imports a variety of dual-use goods in violation of U.N. sanctions, primarily from China and Russia,” the U.S. Office of the Director of National Intelligence said in its annual world threat report released on March 11.