North Korea photos suggest new solid-fuel missile designs

In this Aug. 14, 2017, photo distributed by the North Korean government, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, center, talks with military commanders during his visit to Korean People’s Army’s Strategic Forces in North Korea. The Korean Central News Agency said Tuesday that Kim during an inspection of the KPA’s Strategic Forces praised the military for drawing up a “close and careful” plan. Kim said he will give order for the missile test if the United States continues its “extremely dangerous actions” on the Korean Peninsula. Independent journalists were not given access to cover the event depicted in this image. (Korean Central News Agency/Korea News Service via AP)

TOKYO—North Korea’s state news agency has released photos of diagrams that show what appear to be the designs of one or possibly two new missiles.

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The diagrams were seen hanging on a wall behind leader Kim Jong Un during a visit to a plant that makes solid-fuel engines for the country’s ballistic missile program.

One showed a missile called Pukguksong-3, which appears to be the latest in the Pukguksong, or Polaris, series. The other was harder to discern but appeared to be in the “Hwasong,” or Mars, series.

The photos were released by the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) on Wednesday.

The KCNA report said Kim called on workers to produce more solid-fuel rocket engines and rocket warhead tips. JPV