Overview
- Kim watched a choreographed display at a training base where soldiers broke bricks with their heads and took blows from mallets and spades.
- State media said he also observed a solid‑fuel engine trial for missiles billed as able to reach the US mainland, claiming a peak thrust of 2,500 kilonewtons.
- Solid fuel allows quicker launches because the propellant is preloaded, which makes missiles easier to move, hide, and fire with little warning.
- Analysts urged caution, saying KCNA omitted basics such as burn time, and a South Korean expert said Pyongyang could be bluffing given ongoing reentry challenges.
- The show and test fit years of weapons growth since talks with the US collapsed in 2019, and a monitoring group estimates North Korea holds about 50 nuclear warheads.