North Korea 'tests long-range missile engine'

The new type of engine would "guarantee" the ability to launch
a nuclear strike on the US mainland, the KCNA news agency
said.
The test was conducted at the country's long-range missile
launch site near its west coast.
It is the latest in a series of tests and launches carried out by
the isolated nation.
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Leader Kim Jong-un supervised the test, state media report,
during which "the engine spewed out huge flames with a
deafening boom".
The country would now be able to "keep any cesspool of evils
in the earth including the US mainland within our striking
range," Mr Kim was quoted as saying.
North Korea should "refrain from actions and rhetoric that
further destabilise the region and focus instead on taking
concrete steps toward fulfilling its commitments and
international obligations," said US state department
spokesman Mark Toner.
Analysis: Steve Evans, BBC, Seoul
Step by step, North Korea is completing the tasks needed to
have a nuclear-tipped missile capable of striking the US.
In recent weeks, it has said it has made the heat-resistant
materials necessary. It broadcast pictures of Kim Jong-un
looking on approvingly at what it claimed was a small nuclear
warhead. Now it says it has the necessary rocket engine.
It is impossible to verify the claims, though on Tuesday the
South Korean government accepted that North Korea had
made crucial advances.
Next month, there is a grand political congress in Pyongyang
to which Kim Jong-un is building up with fearsome rhetoric. He
has threatened a fifth nuclear test. It would not be a surprise if
that happened.
In March, North Korea said it had developed nuclear warheads
small enough to fit on ballistic missiles .
However, experts cast doubt on the claims.
Last month also saw North Korea threaten "indiscriminate"
nuclear strikes on the US and South Korea as they held big
joint military drills, which the north sees as a rehearsal for an
eventual invasion.
Meanwhile, the US imposed new sanctions on North Korea
following a nuclear test in January and a satellite launch in
February, widely seen as a test of banned missile technology.
The US has also held talks with South Korea aimed at
deploying a US missile defence system to the Korean
peninsula, a move strongly opposed by North Korea, Russia
and China.
Beijing says the Thaad anti-missile system compromises its
security and would undermine its nuclear deterrent.