North Korea said it had conducted another test at a satellite launch site on Friday to bolster its strategic nuclear deterrence, North Korean state media outlet KCNA reported on Saturday.
The test was conducted at the Sohae satellite launch site, KCNA said, citing a spokesman for North Korea’s Academy of Defence Science, without specifying what sort of testing occurred.
A “NEW PATH”
KCNA on Sunday said that North Korea had carried out a “very important” test on Dec. 7 at the Sohae satellite launch site, a rocket-testing facility that US officials once said North Korea had promised to close. That KCNA report called the Dec. 7 event a “successful test of great significance.” South Korea’s defense minister Jeong Keong-doo said it was an engine test.
The reported tests come ahead of a year-end deadline North Korea has put forth for the United States to drop its insistence on unilateral denuclearization.
Pyongyang has warned it could take a “new path” amid the stalled talks with the United States. The top US envoy for North Korea is set to arrive in Seoul on Sunday for meetings with South Korean officials.
Analysts said such tests could help North Korea build more reliable intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs).