SpaceWar.com reports: “North Korea said Thursday it had test-fired one of its newest and most powerful missiles to boost its nuclear deterrent, Kim Jong Un’s first weapons test since being accused of sending soldiers to Russia.

Seoul had warned a day earlier that the nuclear-armed North was preparing to test-fire another intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) or even conduct a nuclear test ahead of next week’s US elections.

The launch came just hours after US and South Korean defence chiefs called on Pyongyang to withdraw its troops from Russia, warning that North Korean soldiers in Russian uniforms were being deployed for possible action against Ukraine.

‘The initial judgment so far is that (Pyongyang) may have test-fired a new solid-propelled long-range ballistic missile,’ Seoul’s military said, adding the missile had flown around 1,000 kilometres (621 miles) after being fired on a lofted trajectory — meaning up, not out.

Developing advanced solid-fuel missiles — which are quicker to launch and harder to detect and destroy in advance — has long been a goal for Kim…”