North Korea is working on a new rocket engine, and one explanation from the DPRK government is that it may be utilized for eventual lunar exploration. But a more plausible reason for the engine's development is use in future ICBMs which could carry atomic payloads to targets in the US. The project may involve collaboration with Iran, according to the New York Times (see the link above) and the 38North blog, a site run by the US-Korea Institute at Johns Hopkins SAIS.
38North is a great site, and should be used by anyone with an interest in East Asian current events.
