Kim Jong-un holds cigarette and grins at new nuclear weapons test

North Korea has successfully tested a new system that allows it to more effectively launch nuclear missiles at the US, state media say.

According to a report by the state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), the high-boost solid-fuel motor rockets were tested yesterday at a satellite launch site northwest of Pyongyang.

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un attended the launch, smoked a cigarette and looked pleased as he oversaw the missile’s “static fire test,” which KCNA said “guaranteed the development of a new kind of strategic weapons system.” .’

The Dictator looked noticeably more relaxed during his appearance at the launch, wearing a tan jacket and loose-fitting cargo pants that exuded a more casual look – as opposed to the “supervillain” aesthetic he’d cultivated this year with a streamlined one . Leather trench coat and aviator glasses reminiscent of Tom Cruise in Top Gun.

After the launch, Kim said that “another new type of strategic weapon would be created in no time.”

Experts believe the move is likely related to a new type of ICBM capable of hitting the US homeland — one of several high-tech weapons systems Kim promised to unveil at a major Labor Party conference early last year.

Other weapon systems Kim has promised to manufacture include a multi-warhead missile, underwater-launched nuclear missiles and spy satellites.

Ankit Panda, an expert at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, said: “We have been anticipating such a test for some time. Large diameter solid fuel rocket engines will enable North Korea to deploy larger submarine-launched missiles and , more importantly, more survivable and responsive ballistic missiles with an intercontinental range.

“I wouldn’t be surprised if they looked at additional testing and development of these engines before moving forward with test flights.

“The general picture is that North Korea is literally emerging as a prominent operator of large-scale missile forces.”

Unlike liquid fuel rockets, solid fuel rockets are fueled at the time of manufacture and can therefore be deployed for war much more quickly.

Leif-Eric Easley, a professor at Ewha University in Seoul, added: “If North Korea’s ground test of high-performance solid fuel engines at Sohae is at all as successful as they claim, it will be an important step in the development of the land of a nuclear missile.” Development.’

North Korea has conducted an unprecedented number of nuclear tests this year, despite numerous international bans and sanctions.

The latest test comes as International Atomic Energy Agency chief Rafael Grossi is in Seoul for talks with South Korean officials, pledging to do everything in his power to stop North Korea’s nuclear program .

Meeting with Grossi, South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol expressed concern over North Korea’s “race” to advance its nuclear and missile programs and called for UN agency cooperation to deter Pyongyang , which fears further provocation.

South Korean and US officials said the North has completed preparations for a possible nuclear bomb test, its first since 2017.

Following an earlier test launch in November, Kim warned North Korea would launch a “more offensive” counterattack if the US or South Korea attempted to “destroy peace and stability in the Korean peninsula and region,” according to KCNA.

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