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3h ago

North Korea Unveils Untested Hwasong-20 ICBM at Workers' Party Parade

Regional officials consider its capabilities unproven pending flight tests.

In this photo provided by North Korean government, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, center, Chinese Premier Li Qiang, fourth right, Vietnamese Communist Party General Secretary To Lam, second right, Russian Security Council Deputy Chairman Dmitry Medvedev, right, attend the military parade marking the 80th anniversary of the founding of the ruling Worker's Party, in Pyongyang, North Korea, Friday, Oct. 10, 2025. Independent journalists were not given access to cover the event depicted in this image distributed by the North Korean government. The content of this image is as provided and cannot be independently verified. Korean language watermark on image as provided by source reads: "KCNA" which is the abbreviation for Korean Central News Agency. (Korean Central News Agency/Korea News Service via AP)
North Korea shows off a newly developed Hwasong-20 intercontinental ballistic missile during a military parade at Kim Il Sung Square in Pyongyang on Oct. 10, 2025, to mark the 80th anniversary of the founding of its ruling Workers' Party of Korea, in this photo captured from the North's Korean Central TV the next day. (For Use Only in the Republic of Korea. No Redistribution) (Yonhap)

Overview

  • Kim Jong Un presided over the Pyongyang event attended by China's Li Qiang, Russia's Dmitry Medvedev and Vietnam's To Lam, signaling closer ties with Beijing and Moscow.
  • State media introduced the Hwasong-20 as the country's most powerful nuclear strategic system, though it has not been flight-tested.
  • Recent state reports highlighted a carbon-fiber solid-fuel rocket engine intended for future ICBMs, aligning with Kim's call for multi-warhead development.
  • The parade also showcased hypersonic and cruise missiles along with newer tanks, artillery systems and military drones.
  • South Korea said it is closely monitoring related movements and described the parade as an internal North Korean event, as Kim praised North Korean soldiers sent to support Russia in its war on Ukraine.