South Korea said on Monday North Korea's latest rocket-engine test showed "meaningful" advancement in engine function.

"Through this test, it is found that engine function has made meaningful progress but further analysis is needed for exact thrust and possible uses," Lee Jin-woo, deputy spokesman for the South Korean defence ministry, told a regular briefing.

North Korea had conducted a test of a new high-thrust engine at its rocket launch station and leader Kim Jong Un said the successful test marked "a new birth" of its rocket industry, the North's official media reported on Sunday.