North Korean leader Kim Jong Un supervised a successful test of a solid-fuel engine for long-range nuclear missiles, according to state media on Tuesday, advancing a weapons program that Western efforts have failed to stop.

The test, described as the ninth and final one, was reported by the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), signaling a potential full test of a new intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) in the near future.

KCNA stated that Kim observed the “important test,” with images showing him using binoculars to view the engine’s flame and a red horizontal flame from the test.

The engine, made with composite carbon fiber material, was part of a “ground jet test” and marked the final stage of its development. Kim reportedly said the engine would significantly enhance North Korea’s nuclear strategic forces. The test follows the recent unveiling of the Hwasong-20, North Korea’s next-generation ICBM.

The test “indicates the production of a solid-fuel engine to be used for the new ICBM,” Yang Moo-jin, former president of the University of North Korean Studies in Seoul, told AFP.

By describing it as the “last” stage of development, Pyongyang was pointing to “a probable test launch of its new ICBM soon,” Yang said, adding that a launch within this year was highly plausible.

North Korea has become one of Russia’s main allies since it invaded Ukraine three-and-a-half years ago, sending thousands of troops and container loads of weapons to help the Kremlin push Ukrainian forces out of western Russia, following Kyiv’s shock incursion last year.

Analysts have speculated that the North is receiving Russian technical support for its banned weapons and satellite programs in exchange, allowing for more rapid progress on its missile development projects.

With Russian assistance, North Korea’s missiles could be reassessed from “‘crude’ to ‘complete,'” Yang added.

China Trip

The test also came days after Kim returned to North Korea from a trip to Beijing to attend a military parade marking Japan’s surrender in World War II, where he stood side by side with his Chinese and Russian counterparts, Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin.

North Korea has for years staged test flights of long-range missiles apparently able to reach the continental United States.

Pyongyang has also rolled out solid-fuel variants that are easier to mobilize, conceal, and launch rapidly compared with liquid-fuel missiles.

And with the nuclear-armed North seeking to use carbon-fiber material in its ICBMs, the weapons could gain greater range by becoming lighter, Hong Min, a senior analyst at the Korea Institute for National Unification, told AFP.

“By securing both lightweight and thermal durability, it demonstrates the domestic development of essential materials for the extended range,” he said.

North Korea has repeatedly stated this year that it has no intention of giving up its nuclear weapons, and called South Korean President Lee Jae Myung a “hypocrite” over his remarks calling for a “path to denuclearisation”.

“The North would remain unchanged in our stand not to abandon the nuclear weapons, the prestige and honor of the state,” Pyongyang said in August.