North Korea releases photo appearing to show new missile designs
North Korean state media released new images on Wednesday, and one photo appears to show new missile designs hanging on the wall.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un reportedly toured the nation's Chemical Material Institute of the Academy of Defense Science on Wednesday, and one photo from the visit shows Un standing next to diagrams hanging on the wall.
As the Associated Press reports, the diagram looks to feature an outline of a "Pukguksong-3" missile and at least one other ballistic weapon.
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Tensions have escalated between North Korea and the United States throughout the summer as the Trump administration and Kim Jong Un's hermit regime have exchanged explosive language. U.S. and South Korea troops initiated annual joint drills on Monday -- a move North Korea has threatened "merciless retaliation" over.
According to the state-run KCNA outlet, Kim Jong Un called on workers during his Wednesday visit to the plant to produce more solid-fuel rocket engines and rocket warhead tips.
Looking at the newly-released image, research associate at the Center for Non-Proliferation Studies, Michael Duitsman, said the first missile has not been seen before.
"The Pukguksong-3 is definitely new," he told the Associated Press. The AP also reports that the new design might warrant North Korea's ability to fly the missiles farther and launch them from protective canisters -- making them harder to detect and take out in advance.
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