Click to see full-size image. (Korean Central News Agency)
North Korea announced on September 21 that it had conducted a “new important test of a combat weapon system” under the observation of leader Kim Jong Un, releasing images that appear to show data from a missile flight.
The Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said that the Missile General Bureau “successfully conducted a test of a new weapon on September 20 that has major significance for advancing weapon-system technology.”
KCNA said, “There was no negative impact whatsoever on the safety of neighboring countries,” and described the test as “an extension of normal activities to carry out the national defense line.”
Click to see full-size image. (Korean Central News Agency)
Kim watched the launch at the site with his daughter, Ju Ae. The leader called the results “a display of cutting-edge defense technology and a clear renewal in force modernization,” adding that it was “literally irresistible.”
“Acquiring such technology has major significance for the country’s war readiness posture and for the prospective development of its forces,” the leader said.
“From a military-technical standpoint, adversaries will know better than anyone, even without explanation, what this renewal means, and for the enemies, this reality will be a very harsh and unavoidable baptism,” he added.
One of the images released by KCNA shows a monitor viewed by Kim and Ju Ae with the words “Hwasong artillery-11ma-1 flight trajectory.”
The screen, apparently captured at about 6:04:10 p.m., displayed the figures “Time: 446.1s (seconds), Speed: 2146 m/s, Altitude: 35.8 km, Distance: 908.2 km.”
Those figures indicate a flight distance of about 908 kilometers. The monitor also showed a map with a blue line believed to represent the target point and a red line indicating the missile’s flight path. The trajectory appears to rise to an apex before descending and then rising again at low altitude, a flight characteristic that has prompted analysis that the weapon could be a hypersonic missile.
On the right side of the screen, data next to the word “warhead” showed a time of 63.6 seconds, a speed of 2883 m/s and an altitude of 26.2 kilometers. Additional data showed a time of 154.4 seconds and an altitude of 68.4 kilometers.
South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said North Korea launched two short-range ballistic missiles toward the East Sea from the Wonsan area on the afternoon of September 20, about three hours apart.
The missiles flew about 450 kilometers and more than 600 kilometers, respectively, and were assessed as belonging to the Hwasong-11 series. The launches marked North Korea’s 14th ballistic missile test of the year.
Click to see full-size image. (Korean Central News Agency)
North Korea began testing hypersonic weapons in 2021 and has since continued efforts to develop missiles with maneuverable high-speed flight capabilities. Those tests have included the Hwasong-16B, a solid-fuel intermediate-range ballistic missile equipped with a hypersonic glide vehicle, which was tested in April 2024 and January 2025.
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