Kim Jong Un shows off advanced solid-fuel ICBM engine designed to strike US

[The Financial News] The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) has carried out a ground jet test of a new solid-fuel engine needed to upgrade an Intercontinental Ballistic Missile (ICBM) capable of striking the US mainland.
Solid-fuel engines can be launched more quickly and covertly because they are pre-loaded with propellant. In contrast, liquid-fuel engines require preparation and fueling time before launch, making them easier to detect by reconnaissance satellites and other means. The DPRK's ICBMs still use liquid fuel.
According to the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) on the 29th, the DPRK conducted a test of a carbon-fiber solid-fuel engine for ICBM deployment in the presence of Kim Jong Un.
KCNA stated that the newly upgraded engine has a maximum thrust of 2,500 kN (kilonewtons). This represents an increase of about 26% over the maximum thrust of 1,971 kN recorded in the ground jet test of a solid-fuel engine conducted last September. The engine is likely to be mounted on the Hwasong-20, which the DPRK has publicly said it is developing.
The agency reported that the test was carried out as part of a new five-year national defence development plan, which sets the continuous upgrading of strategic strike assets as a key objective.
Kim Jong Un said, "This test, which carries truly enormous significance in raising the state's strategic military power to the strongest level, fully meets the national strategy and military requirements for the modernization of the strategic forces."
Kim also watched an evaluation test of the interception capabilities of a new main battle tank at the Armored Weapons Institute of the Academy of Defence Sciences. KCNA claimed that in an inspection test of the tank's active protection system, the combat effectiveness of the protection system against various anti-tank weapons from multiple directions was examined and that a 100% defensive capability was confirmed. Kim Jong Un additionally inspected the training conditions of soldiers from a Special Operations Training Unit directly under the Operations Bureau of the General Staff of the Korean People's Army.

rainman@fnnews.com Kim Kyung-soo Reporter