North Korea’s leader, Kim Jong Un, ordered preparations for the launch of a satellite “as soon as possible” on the basis of the successful test, its state media reported.
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“If North Korea were interested in building large, immobile missiles, they would not have devoted so much of their resources to a submarine-launched missile system that is the very antithesis of ‘large and immobile, ‘” Schilling said. After last week’s flyover, North Korea’s official Korean Central News Agency described the B-1B as an “ill-famed nuclear war means” and accused the United States of resorting to “nuclear threat and blackmail” against the North. “The South Korean space programme, on the other hand, is endeavouring to get an engine of 75 tonnes of force”.
Rocket scientist Chae Yeon Seok at the South’s Korea Aerospace Research Institute said that with the new engine, the North is “coming close to having an inter-continental ballistic missile (ICBM) that could hit the USA mainland”. “So, this does seem to be significant progress by North Korea”.
North Korea has been testing nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles at an unprecedented rate this year, beginning with its fourth nuclear test in January and including the launch of a satellite in February that was widely seen as a test of long-range ballistic missile technology. After both events, my phone started ringing, and once again I needed to consider where North Korea lies on the collapse-survival scale.
Pyongyang said Tuesday that it tested an engine jet on the ground of a carrier rocket for geo-stationary satellite, which Seoul military saw as a long-range missile. South Korean media speculated the North could conduct a long-range rocket launch around October 10, which is the 71st founding anniversary for the North’s ruling Workers’ Party.
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United Nations diplomats say the two countries have begun discussions on a possible United Nations resolution in response to the nuclear test earlier this month, but Beijing has not said directly whether it would support tougher steps against North Korea. It did not give the date of the test, as is customary. The engine, thought to be required to launch satellites into space, could also be used to launch nuclear weapons toward distant targets, including the United States mainland. About 28,500 U.S. troops are stationed in South Korea, a legacy of the 1950-53 Korean War which ended with an armistice, not a peace treaty.
