North Korean leader Kim Jong-un observed the ground jet test of a new high-thrust rocket engine, the country's state-run media said Sunday, an indication that Pyongyang may engage in future provocations despite warnings by the international community.
According to the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), Kim who holds the title of supreme commander of the Korean People's Army, visited the Sohae Satellite Launching Ground to personally inspect the performance of the engine developed by the Academy of the National Defense Science. The report said the test took place Saturday.
Kim was on hand for another rocket engine test in September last year after the reclusive country conducted its fifth nuclear test earlier in the month.
The KCNA said he checked the technical specifications of the engine and preparations for the test, and gave appropriate instructions before going up to the observation post to give the order for the test to begin.
The media outlet said the test was conducted to confirm the overall technical indices of the engine, such as features of its thrust power in the combustion chamber, accurate movement of the turbine pump, control system and various valves, and their structural safety and reliability. It said the engine met technical expectations.
"The leader noted that the success made in the current test marked a great event of historic significance as it declared a new birth of the Juche-based rocket industry," the KCNA said, adding that the latest test reduced the country's dependence on the technology of other countries.
The Juche ideology is North Korea's guiding philosophy of self-reliance.
"He emphasized that the whole world will soon witness what eventful significance the great victory won today carries," the media outlet said, without going into further details.
Kim, meanwhile, said at the latest test that the country's field munitions industry made a series of unprecedented successes and instilled dynamism in the people.
He then engaged in a photo session with the officials, scientists and technicians who took part in the test.
The KCNA said he was accompanied by Ri Pyong-chol, Kim Jong-sik and other leading officials of the North's ruling Workers' Party of Korea, and scientists and technicians in the field of rocket research.
The rocket engine test comes as U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson is in Asia, with observers saying the trip aims to put further pressure on Pyongyang to give up its nuclear and long-range missile programs.
Kim Yong-hyun, a professor of North Korean studies at Dongguk University, speculated that Kim taking part in the engine test is an indirect way that the North is saying it will not give ground to outside pressure.
Others like Yang Moo-jin, who teaches at the University of North Korean Studies, said the North may be gearing up for major events like the 85th anniversary of the founding of the Korean People's Army and Chinese leader Xi Jinping's visit next month.
"There is a possibility that the North will provoke other countries by firing off an intercontinental ballistic missile or launch a satellite soon," the scholar said. (Yonhap)