North Korea successfully tests satellite rocket engine

Kim Jong Un

North Korea has said it has successfully tested a new rocket engine which could be used to launch satellites.
The country’s leader Kim Jong-Un has asked scientists and engineers to make preparations for a satellite launch as soon as possible.
The United Nations and others view the North’s space launch development project as a way of
hiding tests of missile technology.
It comes just weeks after Pyongyang officials said a “nuclear warhead explosion” had been carried out.
The country’s fifth and seemingly largest nuclear test on 9 September caused a 5.3-magnitude seismic event and was described by South Korea as “maniacal recklessness”.
It sparked calls from Britain, France and the US for new sanctions, with the UN Security Council saying these will be considered as part of “significant measures” against Pyongyang.
Jeffrey Lewis, a US analyst, said it appeared to be North Korea’s largest test to date and claimed it boasted an explosive power of up to 30,000 tonnes of TNT – five times more than Pyongyang’s last nuclear test in January.
If this was the case, it would be larger than the bomb dropped by the US on the Japanese city of Hiroshima in the Second World War.
North Korea has also performed a series of unsuccessful missile tests in recent months which are part of its push for a nuclear-armed missile that could one day reach the American mainland.