Kim Jong Un oversaw North Korea’s Sept. 20 missile test, as images released by state media identified the weapon as the Hwasongpho-11Ma-1. Credit: Trump White House Archived by Shealah Craighead /Public Domain
North Korea said Tuesday that it successfully tested a new weapons system of “great significance,” while photographs released by state media appear to show an upgraded hypersonic missile previously displayed by Pyongyang.
The Sept. 20 test took place under leader Kim Jong Un, who watched the launch alongside his daughter, Kim Ju Ae. South Korea’s military said North Korea fired two short-range ballistic missiles from the Wonsan area on its east coast, with the projectiles traveling about 440 kilometers (273 miles) and more than 600 kilometers (373 miles).
North Korea did not initially identify the weapon. But a monitoring screen visible in the photographs labels the system’s flight trajectory as “Hwasongpho-11Ma-1.” Defense analysts have identified the missile as a hypersonic short-range ballistic missile, an assessment consistent with North Korea’s previous claims about the Hwasong-11Ma series.
Discrepancies between North Korean broadcast data and South Korean radar tracking have left the missile’s actual flight range unverified.
North Korea describes the test as a major weapons advance
North Korea’s state-run Korean Central News Agency said the Missile General Bureau conducted the test to advance the country’s weapons technology. It described the new weapon as having “great significance” for the development of the armed forces.
Kim said the test demonstrated progress in military modernization and would strengthen North Korea’s war-readiness. He also said the development would give the country’s enemies an “incurable headache,” according to KCNA.
Kim Ju Ae attended the test as her father inspected the launch and reviewed information on monitoring screens. Her presence marked another public appearance alongside Kim at a major weapons event.
South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said North Korea fired the two missiles about three hours apart, with both landing outside Japan’s exclusive economic zone.
The different estimates reflect the information available to the countries monitoring the launches. South Korea initially classified the projectiles as short-range ballistic missiles, while further analysis focused on whether the weapon incorporated technology designed for hypersonic flight.
Jang Do-young, a spokesperson for South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff, said North Korean claims about its weapons capabilities “cannot be 100% trusted,” according to remarks reported Tuesday.
Photos reveal a hypersonic missile and conflicting flight data
The monitoring screen provides the clearest indication of what system North Korea tested. It identifies the projectile as the Hwasongpho-11Ma-1, the Korean designation for a missile that outside analysts have associated with the Hwasong-11Ma hypersonic weapon family.
The screen lists a flight time of 446.1 seconds, a speed of 2,146 meters per second (4,800 mph), an altitude of 35.8 kilometers (22.2 miles) and a distance of 908.2 kilometers (564.3 miles). Yonhap reported that the screen appeared to have been photographed at about 6:04 p.m. on Sept. 20.
North Korean state media presented those figures, and outside analysts have not independently verified them. The 908.2-kilometer distance is particularly notable because it exceeds the ranges South Korea and Japan reported after tracking the launches.
South Korean media outlet Yonhap noted that military officials have not ruled out manipulated telemetry figures designed to overstate test results. Analyst Jang Young-keun warned that Pyongyang’s announcements demand rigorous scrutiny. On-screen trajectories released by state media depicted a vehicle descending before pulling upward at lower altitudes, consistent with hypersonic glide technology designed to evade defense systems after re-entry. Analysts emphasized, however, that broadcast animations cannot independently verify true flight performance.
Operational photos analyzed by The War Zone revealed North Korea deployed a modified six-axle transporter-erector-launcher for the test, replacing older five-axle variants and signaling design updates to the regime’s mobile missile fleet.
The test comes amid renewed signals about US-North Korea talks
The weapons test comes as Washington and Seoul have signaled interest in maintaining the possibility of dialogue with Pyongyang.
US President Donald Trump has expressed interest in meeting Kim again, while South Korean President Lee Jae Myung has supported efforts to reopen dialogue with North Korea. Washington and Seoul also reduced the scale of a recent joint military exercise, a move Pyongyang has long demanded.
Kim’s sister, Kim Yo Jong, rejected the change, calling the drills provocative despite their reduced scale. The Sept. 20 launches therefore came as the three governments were publicly discussing both military tensions and the possibility of renewed diplomacy.
The Hwasong-11Ma test also fits into North Korea’s broader effort to develop missiles capable of maneuvering at lower altitudes and complicating missile-defense calculations. North Korea has previously presented hypersonic weapons as an important part of that effort.
The photographs provide evidence of the missile system North Korea says it tested, but they do not by themselves establish the weapon’s full operational capability. Further technical assessment would need to determine whether it can sustain controlled hypersonic maneuvering, maintain guidance and accuracy during that maneuvering, and perform reliably under operational conditions.