North Korea says it tested ‘high-thrust solid-fuel motor’

North Korea has tested a “high-thrust solid-fuel motor”, state media reported on Friday, as the isolated country continues efforts to develop a new strategic weapon and speeds up its nuclear and missile programmes, Qazet.az reports.

The test, overseen by leader Kim Jong Un, took place on Thursday at North Korea’s Sohae Satellite Launching Ground, the official KCNA news agency said.

The static firing test proved the motor’s reliability and stability, providing a “guarantee for the development of another new-type strategic weapon system”, KCNA added.

Experts say the test appears aimed at developing a new solid-fuel intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) given the thrust of the engine, which North Korea said was “the first of its kind” in the country.

The country has been working to build more solid-fuel missiles, which are more stable and can be launched with almost no warning or preparation time.

“Pyongyang’s claim of testing a solid-fuel motor for longer range ballistic missiles supports its more aggressive, recently declared doctrine of using nuclear weapons if the Kim leadership or strategic assets come under threat,” Leif-Eric Easley, a professor at Ewha University in Seoul, told Al Jazeera. “Once deployed, the technology would make North Korea’s nuclear forces more versatile, survivable, and dangerous.”

But Easley cautioned that getting from a solid-fuel motor ground test to operational, accurate, and reliable missiles would involve many technical challenges and state media could exaggerate the country’s weapons capabilities and deployment timelines.