Wernher von Braun

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un oversaw a successful test of a solid-fuel engine for a "new-type intermediate-range hypersonic missile", Pyongyang's state media said Wednesday.

The test was carried out on Tuesday by the North's Missile Administration at the Sohae Satellite Launching Ground in the northwest of the country, according to the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).

North Korea fired multiple cruise missiles Friday, Seoul's military said, continuing a fresh streak of weapons testing as Kim Jong Un's regime ramps up what it calls "war preparations".

North Korea fired several cruise missiles towards the Yellow Sea on Wednesday, Seoul's military said, the latest in a series of tension-raising moves by the nuclear-armed state.

Pyongyang has accelerated weapons testing in the new year, including tests of what it called an "underwater nuclear weapon system" and a solid-fuelled hypersonic ballistic missile.

North Korea declared a successful test of a solid-fuel intermediate-range ballistic missile (IRBM) with a hypersonic warhead, intensifying concerns about regional stability. The secretive regime's latest launch, the first since December, showcased advancements in multi-stage high-thrust solid-fuel engines.

North Korea said Monday it had successfully test-fired a new ballistic missile tipped with a hypersonic manoeuvrable warhead, the latest breakthrough in its pursuit of advanced weaponry to threaten South Korean and U.S. targets.

The US, South Korea and Japan have begun joint trilateral missile defense exercises in the Sea of Japan. Three destroyer squadrons from the three countries will participate in the maneuvers, the Seoul Navy said, quoted by South Korea's Yonhap news agency.

North Korea on Thursday conducted its first intercontinental ballistic missile launch in a month, possibly testing a new type of more mobile, harder-to-detect weapons system, its neighbors said, in an extension of the North's provocative run of missile tests.

The weapon that was test-fired on Oct. 4 was an intermediate-range ballistic missile (IRBM) & passed over Japan

North Korea fired two ballistic missiles into the sea early Sunday, Seoul's military said, the seventh such launch in two weeks, just hours after a nuclear-powered US aircraft carrier wrapped up joint drills off the Korean peninsula.

The U.S. and South Korean militaries launched eight ballistic missiles into the sea Monday in a show of force matching a North Korean missile display a day earlier that extended a provocative streak in weapons demonstrations.