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Satellite images of the Tongchang-ri site in recent days indicate that North Korea may be preparing to resume testing rocket engines used to power satellite launchers and intercontinental ballistic missiles​, according to CNN.

Officials and analysts in Seoul also agreed that the latest test at Tongchang-ri most likely involved a new missile engine.

Before Mr. Kim met with Mr. Trump last year, he announced a halt to all nuclear and intercontinental ballistic missile tests, or ICBMs, a self-imposed moratorium that Mr. Trump has repeatedly cited as one of his main achievements in his on-off diplomacy with Mr. Kim. But the moratorium did not cover missile-engine tests. So Mr. Kim can still claim that he has not shirked his pledge, while using such tests to send a warning to Washington that they could be followed by ICBM tests, analysts said.

Mr. Kim is scheduled to convene his party’s Central Committee this month to “discuss and decide on crucial issues​,” given “the changed situation at home and abroad​,” according to the North Korean state media.

Kim Dong-yub, a North Korea expert at the Seoul-based Institute for Far Eastern Studies, said the latest test may have involved a new type of ICBM engine that uses solid fuel.

North Korea’s existing ICBMs use liquid fuel. North Korea has been trying to convert its missiles from liquid fuel to solid, which is easier to transport and faster to load onto missiles​, thus making it harder for the United States military to find and target ​its missiles before they are launched.

“North Korea is avoiding violations of its long-range missile test moratorium for now, but it is still improving the propulsion and precision of its missiles so that it can claim a credible nuclear deterrent​,” said Leif-Eric Easley, associate professor of international studies at Ewha Womans University in Seoul​. ​“The Kim regime knows that U.S. surveillance flights and satellites are watching. So with the activity at Sohae, Pyongyang is also trying to raise international concerns that it may intensify provocations and walk away from denuclearization talks next year.​”