North Korean leader Kim Jong Un observed a test of a high-thrust, solid-fuel engine test and hailed it as a development to boost the country's strategic military capability, state media reported on Sunday (March 29, 2026).
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The test likely indicates Mr. Kim is intent on enlarging and modernising an arsenal of missiles capable of reaching the United States mainland.
The report on Sunday (March 29) from the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) came days after Mr. Kim delivered a speech at North Korea's Parliament pledging to irreversibly cement his country's status as a nuclear power and accusing the U.S. of global “state terrorism and aggression,” in an apparent reference to the war in the West Asia.
Mr. Kim watched the ground jet test of the newly upgraded engine using a composite carbon fibre material, according to the KCNA, which reported the engine's maximum thrust is 2,500 kilotons, up from about 1,971 kilotons reported in a similar solid fuel engine test in September.
