A North Korean intermediate-range strategic ballistic rocket lifting off from the launching pad at an undisclosed location near Pyongyang.
North Korea has made minimal advances in the capabilities needed for an effective nuclear missile that could reach the American mainland, according to the U.S.’s No. 2 military official.
“Probably the only thing they’ve advanced is their understanding of mixing and fabrication of solid-rocket fuel” after tests of short-range systems in May, General Paul Selva, vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said in an interview. Solid fuel is more stable than liquid fuel and allows for faster reloading of mobile missiles.
Selva’s comments came ahead of China President Xi Jinping’s arrival in Pyongyang for the first such visit in 14 years. Xi and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un were expected to stake out common ground in nuclear talks, which have stalled since U.S. President Donald Trump walked out on a summit with Kim in February.
While Trump advisers said North Korea’s recent missile tests violated United Nations Security Council resolutions, the U.S. president tweeted that it “disturbed some of my people, but not me.” The regime hasn’t conducted the test of a potential intercontinental ballistic missile since November 2017, a moratorium that Trump has cited as a success of his efforts to reach an nuclear accord.