AP Top News｜朝鲜称金正恩视察新型洲际弹道导弹火箭发动机测试
韩国首尔（美联社）——朝鲜周二表示，领导人金正恩监督了一款新型洲际弹道导弹火箭发动机的测试，这是他为构建对美国本土构成实际威胁的武器库所采取的最新举措。
朝鲜官方通讯社朝中社称，周一的试验标志着采用碳纤维制造的固体燃料火箭发动机完成第九次也是最后一次地面测试，该发动机推力达1971千牛，较以往型号更为强劲。此次报道发布前一周，金正恩视察了研发该发动机的研究所。朝鲜方面表示，该发动机将用于未来洲际弹道导弹，包括名为"火星-20"的导弹系统。
朝鲜近年来试射了多种洲际弹道导弹，这些导弹的潜在射程可覆盖美国本土，其中包括采用内置固体推进剂的型号。与朝鲜此前使用的液体燃料导弹相比，这类导弹更易于移动和隐蔽，且能更快完成发射准备。
金正恩呼吁进一步发展朝鲜的远程武器，包括开发多弹头系统以提高突破导弹防御系统的概率。迄今为止，朝鲜所有的洲际弹道导弹测试均采用比常规更陡峭的弹道以避免波及邻国领土。专家表示，该国可能尚未完全掌握确保弹头在严苛的再入大气层环境中存活所需的技术。
朝中社报道称，金正恩对周一的试验表示满意，并将新型火箭发动机这一"令人瞩目"的进展称为其扩充朝鲜核武力量过程中的"重大转变"。
自2019年美国总统唐纳德·特朗普首个任期内美朝核谈判破裂以来，金正恩已加紧开展武器试验活动，展示了多种射程的武器，旨在打击美国在亚洲的盟友及美国本土。分析人士指出，金正恩推动核武发展的最终目标，是迫使华盛顿承认朝鲜拥核国家地位，并凭借这一优势在谈判中争取经济与安全利益让步。
金正恩还试图通过加强与传统盟友俄罗斯和中国的合作来增强自身影响力，这一新兴伙伴关系旨在削弱美国的影响力。
金正恩已向俄罗斯派遣数千名士兵及大量军事装备，以助长弗拉基米尔·普京总统对乌克兰的战争。上周他访问北京，与中国国家主席习近平和普京共同出席纪念二战结束80周年暨中国抗日战争胜利的大型阅兵式，成为国际焦点。专家分析称，金正恩此次罕见外访，可能是为了在可能重启的美朝谈判前增强自身筹码。
朝中社在另一份报道中称，习近平在朝鲜建国纪念日（本周二）向金正恩致信，呼吁加强两国间的“战略沟通”。
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) North Korea said Tuesday that leader Kim Jong Un supervised a test of a new rocket engine designed for intercontinental ballistic missiles, the latest step in his effort to build an arsenal that poses a viable threat to the continental United States.
North Koreas official Korean Central News Agency said Mondays event marked the ninth and final ground test of the solid-fuel rocket engine built with carbon fiber and capable of producing 1,971 kilonewtons of thrust, more powerful than past models. The report came a week after Kim visited the research institute that developed the engine, which North Korea then said will be used for future ICBMs, including a system called Hwasong-20.
North Korea in recent years has flight-tested a variety of ICBMs that demonstrated potential range to reach the U.S. mainland, including those with built-in solid propellants that are easier to move and conceal and can be prepared for launch more quickly than the Norths previous liquid-fuel missiles.
Kim has called for further advancements in North Koreas long-range weapons, including the development of multi-warhead systems that would improve their chances of defeating missile defenses. All of North Koreas ICBM tests so far have been conducted at steeper-than-normal trajectories to avoid neighboring territories, and experts say the country may not yet have perfected the technology needed to ensure its warheads survive the harsh conditions of atmospheric re-entry.
KCNA said Kim expressed satisfaction after Mondays test, calling the eye-opening development of the new rocket engine a significant change in his effort to expand North Koreas nuclear forces.
Kim has stepped up testing activities since the collapse of nuclear talks with the U.S. in 2019 under President Donald Trump s first term, demonstrating weapons of various ranges designed to strike U.S. allies in Asia and the U.S. mainland. Analysts say Kims nuclear push is aimed at eventually pressuring Washington to accept the idea of the North as a nuclear power and to negotiate economic and security concessions from a position of strength.
Kim is also trying to bolster his leverage by strengthening his cooperation with traditional allies Russia and China, in an emerging partnership aimed at undercutting U.S. influence .
Kim has sent thousands of troops and large quantities of military equipment to Russia to help fuel President Vladimir Putins war on Ukraine. He visited Beijing last week, sharing the spotlight with Chinese President Xi Jinping and Putin at a massive military parade marking the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II and Chinas fight against Japanese aggression. Experts say Kims rare foreign trip was likely intended to boost his leverage ahead of a potential resumption of talks with the United States.
In a separate report, KCNA said Xi sent a letter to Kim on North Koreas founding anniversary, which fell on Tuesday, and called for strengthened strategic communication between the countries.