24 March 2016•Update: 28 March 2016
By Alex Jensen
SEOUL
Seoul's defense ministry admitted Thursday that North Korea "appears" to be developing solid-fuel rockets -- cautiously backing Pyongyang's claim that it has been able to test the technology.
The evolution from liquid-fuel projectiles would allow the North to carry out frequent launches, according to a ministry spokesperson at a briefing.
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un was quoted by Pyongyang's official KCNA news agency as hailing the success of his country's recent test.
Given that a solid-fuel capability theoretically reduces the preparation time needed for a rocket or missile launch, Kim boasted that the breakthrough would "strike great horror and terror into the hearts of the enemies."
North Korea had already ramped up its threats against the South and its ally the United States in recent weeks, as they continue with their largest ever annual joint military drills.
Tensions on the peninsula have remained heightened since the North's fourth ever nuclear test in January and long-range rocket launch a month later -- those provocations drew strengthened United Nations sanctions.
Having been named repeatedly as a personal target by Pyongyang, South Korean President Park Geun-hye "instructed the military to be fully ready to aggressively cope with North Korea's reckless provocations," a presidential spokesperson revealed.
But Seoul's unification ministry issued a statement pointing out that the North's actions could be an indication of internal strife.
"An increase in [leader] Kim's military-related public activity appears to reflect a sense of crisis, which North Korea has felt since the tougher UN sanctions and ongoing joint military drills between Seoul and Washington," the ministry suggested.
It is a significant year for Pyongyang's authoritarian regime -- the reclusive state's Workers' Party is set to stage its first party convention in more than 30 years this May.
