North Korea now possesses an arsenal, including solid-fuel ICBMs and hypersonic glide vehicles, capable of reaching any location in the continental United States.
Over the past decade, North Korea has achieved what many considered improbable: it has quietly transformed into one of the world’s most heavily armed nuclear states.
Despite its struggling economy and severe sanctions, Pyongyang has invested immense resources into missile technology, all while simultaneously funding its own nuclear program.
How can a nation of this size sustain such an endeavor? The answer lies in its strategic imperative: to construct a nuclear missile shield robust enough to deter any opponent, from regional adversaries to the United States. This drive has elevated North Korea to the ranks of major nuclear powers alongside India and Pakistan – and in specific technologies, such as maneuverable hypersonic glide vehicles and mobile solid-fuel ICBMs, it may even have surpassed them.
Short-Range Ballistic Missiles (SRBM)
North Korea also operates short-range ballistic missiles (SRBMs), systems known in the Soviet army as “frontline missiles,” with ranges between 300 and 1,000 kilometers. Pyongyang has developed several designs within this classification.
The KN-25 multiple rocket launcher fires 600 mm rockets. On April 23, 2024, a battery of these rockets was utilized in North Korea’s first full tactical exercise, simulating a nuclear counterstrike. For the first time, it was officially declared that these rockets are capable of carrying nuclear warheads. With a range of 400 kilometers, they can strike targets across much of South Korea.
Each KN-25 rocket is fitted with a flight-correction system that significantly enhances accuracy. Unlike traditional multiple-launch systems such as the Grad or Katyusha, each missile is independently guided. In one test, the rocket was detonated in mid-air above the target – a method suitable for cluster munitions or nuclear warheads, as an airburst maximizes destructive impact through its shockwave.
Another prominent system is the Hwasong-11, known in the West as the KN-23 and sometimes playfully referred to as “Iskander-Pho” due to its close resemblance to the Russian 9M723 missile from the Iskander-M system.
First revealed in 2019, the missile now exists in multiple versions, including a mobile ground-launched model and a railway-based variant; tests have also been conducted from sea platforms, and it is anticipated that submarine-launched versions will follow. With a range of up to 600 kilometers, the missile can carry compact nuclear warheads, providing North Korea the capability to strike any target on the Korean Peninsula.
© Wikipedia; kcna.kp
The system’s primary advantage lies in its simplicity and standardization: one missile type is deployed across multiple launch platforms, making it a cost-effective solution.
The KN-24, or Hwasong-11B, and its successor, the Hwasong-11D, possess shorter ranges of approximately 400 kilometers. However, each launcher carries two missiles in the Hwasong-11B version and four in the Hwasong-11D version – similar to the US ATACMS system.
North Korean engineers appear not only to have duplicated Russia’s Iskander concept but also to have incorporated ideas from ATACMS. The key distinction is that while the original ATACMS design is over three decades old, the North Korean variant employs modern technology, offering roughly one-and-a-half times the range and potentially superior accuracy.
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In this overview, we have concentrated solely on ballistic missiles. North Korea has also developed various drones and cruise missiles. Yet, ballistic missiles remain considerably more challenging for modern air-defense systems to intercept, and North Korea’s arsenal allows it to destroy a potential aggressor without resorting to other means of attack. This likely accounts for Kim Jong-Un’s consistent emphasis on this category of weapons.