MILITARY
North Korea's new space launcher reveals technological progress
June 2, 2023 - Despite a failed launch, the nuclear-armed country’s latest space launcher indicates significant progress in missile technology.
North Korea’s newest attempt at a space launch fell short of its goal on May 31, but state media photos of the rocket’s lift-off, offer a glimpse of the regime’s progress in missile technology.
According to Reuters, the rocket, christened Chollima-1, is believed to be a new design and is likely powered by engines developed for intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBM).
The new engine seems similar to the dual-nozzle liquid-fuel machine used in North Korea's Hwasong-15 ICBM, said Joseph Dempsey, a defence researcher at the International Institute for Strategic Studies.
Soon after failed launch, North Korea’s Kim Yo Jong, leader Kim Jong Un's sister, said her country would soon put a military spy satellite into orbit and promised Pyongyang would increase its military surveillance capabilities, state media KCNA reported.