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North Korea tests powerful solid fuel engine

2022-12-16T15:19:33.352Z


The technology allows ballistic missiles to be launched faster, even from mobile launch pads: Kim Jong Un's engineers have tried out a new drive for aircraft - in the presence of their boss.


Enlarge image

Image of the test disseminated by North Korea's state media

Photo:

KCNA/EPO

North Korea has tested a high-thrust solid rocket engine that experts say will allow for faster and more mobile launches of ballistic missiles.

The test, overseen by leader Kim Jong-un, took place Thursday at North Korea's Sohae satellite launch site on the west coast, official KCNA news agency reported.

From there, the country has launched several rockets carrying Earth observation satellites since 2012, though with mixed results at best.

The new test is likely to have a military background, even if solid-fuel rockets are also used in civilian rockets from other countries, such as the European “Ariane” or the American “SLS”.

According to experts, however, the North Korean test served to develop a new solid-fuel intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) with higher thrust.

The technology can also be used for missiles fired from submarines, so-called submarine-launched ballistic missiles (SLBMs).

Kim recently announced that he wants to make his country the world's most powerful nuclear power.

According to the North Koreans, the ignition of the solid fuel motor was the "first test of its kind" in the country.

However, North Korea had already tried out a much smaller solid-fuel motor on a test stand in Magunpo on the east coast of the country in spring 2016.

"Compared to liquid-propellant weapons, solid-fuel missiles are more mobile, quicker to launch and easier to conceal, making them more useful during a conflict," said Leif-Eric Easley, professor of international studies at Ewha University in Seoul.

"Once the technology is operational, it will make North Korea's nuclear forces more versatile, more survivable and more dangerous."

Solid rocket boosters offer advantages in that they no longer have to be refueled before launch, which is a time-consuming process.

Test stand had been discovered on satellite images

Lim Eul-chul, a professor of North Korean studies at Kyungnam University in South Korea, said the North could not rule out testing a new solid-fuel intercontinental ballistic missile next year.

And Jeffrey Lewis of the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies in Monterey, California, spoke on Twitter at least of the first stage of a solid-propellant ICBM.

Employees at his institute first discovered the test stand on satellite images in November.

North Korea has conducted an unprecedented number of missile tests this year, including an ICBM that is believed to have the potential to reach the US mainland, despite international bans and sanctions.

chs/Reuters

Source: spiegel

All tech articles on 2022-12-16

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