2026年3月29日 / 美国东部时间上午8:28 / 哥伦比亚广播公司/美联社
据朝鲜官方媒体周日报道，朝鲜领导人金正恩视察了一次可打击美国本土的升级版固体燃料发动机武器测试，并将其称为提升本国战略军事军备的重大进展。
尽管此次测试符合金正恩宣称的目标，即研发更多机动性更强、更难被侦测的针对美国及其盟友的导弹，但一些专家猜测朝鲜的说法可能存在夸大。与通常需要在发射前加注燃料且无法长期储存的液体燃料武器相比，配备固体推进剂的导弹更易于移动和隐藏发射活动。
朝鲜官方的朝中社报道称，金正恩观看了使用复合碳纤维材料的发动机地面喷气测试。报道称，该发动机的最大推力达到2500千牛，高于去年9月类似固体燃料发动机测试中公布的约1970千牛。
朝鲜官方提供的一张未标注日期的照片展示了其所谓的在未公开地点进行的发动机测试。独立记者并未报道此次事件。照片显示一道巨大的火焰从导弹中喷出。
2026年3月29日朝鲜官方提供的一张未标注日期的照片，展示了其所谓在朝鲜境内一处未公开地点进行的固体燃料发动机测试。朝中社/韩国联合通讯社 via 美联社
朝中社报道，此次测试是该国五年军备建设计划的一部分，该计划旨在升级“战略打击手段”——这一术语指的是配备核弹头的弹道导弹及其他武器。据朝中社报道，金正恩表示，最新的发动机测试“对将本国战略军事力量提升至最高水平具有重大意义”。朝中社未透露此次测试的时间和地点。
韩国科学技术政策研究所名誉研究员李春根表示，朝鲜未披露发动机总燃烧时间等关键信息，因此其最新测试的说法可能是“虚张声势”。
朝鲜在去年9月公布此前发动机测试时，将其称为用于洲际弹道导弹的固体燃料发动机的第九次也是最后一次地面测试。当时观察人士预测，朝鲜很快将试射搭载该发动机的洲际弹道导弹，但至今并未实现。
李春根称，朝鲜的固体燃料发动机项目可能面临一些延误，或者朝鲜可能已决定研发性能更优的发动机，不排除在俄罗斯协助下进行。近年来两国合作不断深化，朝鲜曾派遣军队和常规武器支援俄罗斯对乌克兰的战争。
近年来，朝鲜试射了多款洲际弹道导弹，包括固体燃料型号，展示了其具备打击美国本土的射程潜力。但朝鲜过去有关重大武器测试的部分声明曾遭到外界质疑。2024年，朝鲜声称成功试射多弹头导弹，但韩国迅速驳斥此举是为掩盖发射失败而进行的欺骗行为。
2025年10月，在庆祝金正恩的朝鲜阅兵式上，多款被称为“火星-20”的远程导弹亮相。朝鲜官方媒体将这些装备称为该国“最强大的核战略武器系统”。
一些外国专家表示，朝鲜在拥有可用的洲际弹道导弹之前仍面临技术障碍，例如确保其弹头能够承受再入大气层时的恶劣环境。但鉴于该国在核与导弹项目上投入的多年时间，另有一些专家对此说法提出异议。
李春根表示，拥有更强大、更高效的固体燃料发动机将使朝鲜能够研发可从潜艇或陆基机动发射车上发射的小型洲际弹道导弹。其他观察人士则认为，提升发动机功率的举措可能与在单枚导弹上搭载多弹头以提高突破美国防御系统的成功率有关。
自2019年朝鲜与美国总统唐纳德·特朗普的高风险外交谈判破裂以来，朝鲜一直在大力扩充核武库。在今年2月召开的朝鲜劳动党代表大会上，金正恩为与特朗普重启对话留下了空间，但敦促美国放弃将朝鲜核裁军作为谈判先决条件的要求。
North Korea tests missile that it claims can target U.S. mainland
March 29, 2026 / 8:28 AM EDT / CBS/AP
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un observed a test of an upgraded solid-fuel engine for weapons capable of reaching the U.S. mainland, and called it a significant development boosting his country’s strategic military arsenal, state media reported Sunday.
While the test was in line with Kim’s stated goal of acquiring more agile, hard-to-detect missiles targeting the U.S. and its allies, some experts speculate North Korea’s claim may be an exaggeration. Missiles with built-in solid propellants are easier to move and conceal their launches than liquid-fuel weapons, which, in general, must be fueled before liftoff and cannot last long.
The official Korean Central News Agency reported that Kim watched the ground jet test of the engine using a composite carbon fiber material. It said the engine’s maximum thrust is 2,500 kilonewtons, up from about 1,970 kilonewtons reported in a similar solid-fuel engine test in September.
An undated photo provided by the North Korean government shows what it says is the engine test at an undisclosed site. The event was not covered by independent reporters. The photo shows a large jet of flame shooting from the missile.
An undated photo provided on March 29, 2026 by the North Korean government, shows what it says a solid-fuel engine test at an undisclosed place in North Korea. Korean Central News Agency/Korea News Service via AP
KCNA reported the test was conducted as part of the country’s five-year arms build-up meant to upgrade “strategic strike means,” a term referring to nuclear-capable ballistic missiles and other weapons. Kim said the latest engine test had “great significance in putting the country’s strategic military muscle on the highest level,” according to KCNA. The agency did not say when or where the test occurred.
North Korea’s report on the latest test could be “bluffing” as it didn’t disclose some key information like the engine’s total combustion time, said Lee Choon Geun, an honorary research fellow at South Korea’s Science and Technology Policy Institute.
When North Korea reported about the previous engine test in September, it described it as the ninth and final ground test of a solid-fuel engine that it earlier said would be used for intercontinental ballistic missiles. Observers predicted at the time that North Korea would soon test-launch an ICBM loaded with that engine, but it hasn’t done so yet.
North Korea’s solid-fuel engine program may be facing some delays or the country might have determined to develop a better engine, possibly with Russian assistance, Lee said. Cooperation between the countries has deepened in recent years, with the North sending troops and conventional weapons to support Russia’s war against Ukraine.
In recent years, North Korea has test-fired a variety of ICBMs demonstrating the potential range to reach the U.S. mainland, including solid-fuel ones. But some of North Korea’s past claims about major weapons tests drew outside skepticism. In 2024, North Korea claimed to have successfully test-launched a multiwarhead missile, but South Korea quickly dismissed it as a deception to cover up a failed launch.
Several long-range missiles, called Hwasong-20s, were put on display during a North Korean military parade celebrating Kim in October 2025. State media described the devices as the country’s “most powerful nuclear strategic weapon system.”
Some foreign experts say North Korea still faces technological hurdles before it has a functioning ICBM, such as ensuring its warheads survive the harsh conditions of atmospheric reentry. But others dispute that assessment, given the number of years the country has spent on its nuclear and missile programs.
Possession of more powerful and efficient solid-fuel engines would allow North Korea to build smaller ICBMs that can be launched from submarines or land-based mobile launch trucks, Lee said. Other observers say a push to increase the engine power is likely associated with efforts to place multiple warheads on a single missile to increase chances of defeating U.S. defenses.
North Korea has pushed hard to expand its nuclear arsenal since Kim’s high-stakes diplomacy with U.S. President Donald Trump collapsed in 2019. In a ruling Workers’ Party congress in February, Kim left open the door for dialogue with Trump but urged Washington to drop demands for the North’s nuclear disarmament as a precondition for talks.