North Korea Carries Out 'Very Important Test'
PTI
Real journalism holds power accountable
Since 2015, The Wire has done just that.
But we can continue only with your support.
North Korea's state news agency KCNA said on Sunday that "a very important test" had been carried out at its the Sohae Launch Facility.
"The results of the recent important test will have an important effect on changing the strategic position of the DPRK once again in the near future," KCNA reported.
Pyongyang has not revealed any additional details about the nature of the test.
The Sohae Launch Facility, located near the country's northwestern border with China, was supposed to have been decommissioned in 2018, but reports emerged earlier this year indicating it had been rebuilt.
The new development comes as a year-end deadline North Korea had imposed is fast approaching. Pyongyang has warned that it could take a "new path" if no progress is made in denuclearisation talks with the US before the deadline.
According to recent media reports, a new satellite image indicated that North Korea could be readying to resume testing engines used to power satellite launchers at the Sohae Launch Facility.
Also read: North Korea Says It Successfully Tested New Submarine-Launched Ballistic Missile
Missile experts have said it appeared likely Pyongyang conducted a static test of a rocket engine, instead of a missile launch.
"If it is indeed a static engine test for a new solid or liquid fuel missile, it is yet another loud signal that the door for diplomacy is quickly slamming, if it isn't already," Vipin Narang, a nuclear affairs expert at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in the US, told Reuters.
"This could be a very credible signal of what might await the world after the New Year," he added.
Negotiations between the US and North Korea on denuclearisation have so far been stalled since the second summit between President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in Vietnam in February.
Disputes over how much sanctions relief the North must get in return for disarmament steps have marred the talks.
On Saturday, prior to the test, North Korea's ambassador to the UN said denuclearisation was now off the negotiating table with the US, adding that talks with Washington were no longer needed.
In recent months, Pyongyang has performed several short-range missiles and other weapons launches and even hinted at lifting its moratorium on bigger weapons tests, such as nuclear and long-range missiles.
The article was originally published on DW. You can read it here.
This article went live on December eighth, two thousand nineteen, at twenty-two minutes past one in the afternoon.The Wire is now on WhatsApp. Follow our channel for sharp analysis and opinions on the latest developments.