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North Korea successfully tested a solid-fuel engine that boosted the power of its ballistic rockets, state media reported Thursday, as South Korea's president ordered the military to be ready to respond to the North's "reckless provocation."

Pyongyang's claim indicates it is continuing to develop an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) at a rapid pace in defiance of U.N. sanctions, and amid assessment by the South's officials that it could conduct a new nuclear test at any time.