North Korea tests powerful missile engine. Will an ICBM launch follow?

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un oversaw a test of a high-thrust solid-fuel engine for intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) capable of reaching targets around the globe, touting the development as elevating the country’s “strategic military power to the highest level”, state media said on Sunday.The test of the engine made of composite carbon fibre material produced a maximum thrust of 2,500 kilonewtons, up from 1,971 kilonewtons recorded during a similar experiment last September, the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported.Kim said the latest exercise “fully conforms with the national strategy and the military demand for modernising the strategic forces”, pledging to further accelerate Pyongyang’s defence capabilities by introducing “better components with superior economic and technical effectiveness, as proven in the test”.The new engine, which has the thrust to lift a 255-tonne object, is likely to be installed on the Hwasong-20 ICBM, according to observers.“If confirmed, this engine would rank among the top globally,” said Hong Min, a senior research fellow at the Korea Institute for National Unification.He said the US Peacekeeper missile engine has been among the most powerful solid-fuel ICBMs, capable of carrying up to 10 multiple independently targetable re-entry vehicles (MIRVs).