Kim inspected the Chemical Material Institute of the Academy of Defence Science, which develops the North's missiles, KCNA reported Wednesday. "He instructed the institute to produce more solid-fuel rocket engines and rocket warhead tips," it said. Questions remain whether the North has mastered the technology needed to ensure a ballistic missile warhead survives the intense heat generated by re-entering the Earth's atmosphere, although it says it has done so. The manufacturing process included carbon fibre weaving, chemical deposition and high pressure liquid deposition, KCNA said. US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson on Tuesday added momentum to tension reduction, praising the North for showing a "level of restraint" in not conducting nuclear or missile tests since new UN sanctions were imposed.

Source: The Nation Bangkok August 23, 2017 02:26 UTC