DPRK tests new missile engine with Kim Jong Un in attendance

[Financial News] The DPRK has conducted a test of a carbon-fiber solid-fuel engine that could be mounted on an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), with President of the State Affairs Commission Kim Jong Un in attendance.
KCNA reported on the 29th that Kim observed a ground jet test of a high-thrust solid-fuel engine using carbon-fiber composite materials.
According to the agency, the newly upgraded engine has a maximum thrust of 2,500 kN (kilonewtons). This represents about a 26% increase in output compared with the maximum thrust of 1,971 kN recorded in a ground jet test of a solid-fuel engine conducted last September.
The engine is expected to be installed on the Hwasong-20, which the DPRK has publicly stated it is developing.
Shin Jong-woo, secretary general of the Korea Defense & Security Forum (KODEF), said, "It appears they have unveiled a new engine with increased diameter and thrust for installation on the Hwasong-20," adding, "Whenever they have made engine tests public, they have proceeded directly to launches, so there is a high possibility they will do so again this time."
KCNA reported that the test was conducted as part of "the new five-year plan for national defense development, which has set the constant upgrading of strategic strike means as an important objective."
Kim stated with satisfaction, "This test, which carries truly enormous significance in raising the country's strategic military strength to the highest level, fully meets the state strategy and military requirements for the modernization of the strategic armed forces."
He went on to stress, "The current trajectory of our national defense development, which has already entered a phase of major change in the construction of the strategic armed forces, will undergo further transformation and acceleration through the development and introduction of superior components that, like this test, offer outstanding economic and technological efficiency."
The agency added that Kim mentioned "important tasks to further promote the qualitative and quantitative development of the state’s strategic armed forces," but it did not disclose specific details.
Kim also observed a test to evaluate the interception capability of a new main battle tank at the Armored Weapons Research Institute under the Academy of Defence Sciences.
KCNA claimed that in an inspection test of the tank’s active protection system, the system’s combat effectiveness against anti-tank weapons approaching from various directions was examined, and it was confirmed that the tank achieved a 100% defense rate.
Regarding this, Kim expressed satisfaction, saying that the test "demonstrated that the functionality of the interception system of the new main battle tank has perfectly secured the capability to thoroughly destroy almost all existing anti-tank means."
He added, "We have once again confirmed that there is no doubt about our previously declared view that there is no tank in the world that can be compared with this tank."
Kim also 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.
According to KCNA, Kim "expressed his views on the direction for restructuring the special operations capabilities of the army and on the corresponding measures to be taken."

chlee1@fnnews.com Lee Chang-hoon Reporter