On October 22, 2025, North Korea launched a series of new short-range hypersonic ballistic missiles towards the East Sea. This marks North Korean fifth ballistic missile launch since the start of the year.
The missile model and its technical characteristics were not unveiled by the KCNA. However, according to a Russian military expert, Vladimir Khrustalev, the test most likely involved the North Korean version of the “Iskander” system—the “Hwasong-11d” missile complex equipped with a hypersonic glide warhead. In the West, these missiles are referred to as the KN-23 or, colloquially, the “Kimskanders.” Some South Korean experts suppose that the launch may have involved heavier models—specifically, “Hwasong-11B-4.5.” In other words, KN-23 missiles with 4.5-ton warheads.
The Republic of Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) confirmed that the missiles were launched northeastward from Chunghwa County in North Hwanghae Province and traveled approximately 350 kilometers across the country. According to South Korean military analysts’ assumptions, the launch demonstrates Pyongyang’s growing confidence in its missile technology. Test launches of developing systems are typically conducted over the sea to minimize risk, but an inland trajectory indicates that the regime was testing a fully operational weapon.
The launch was apparently routine since it was overseen not by the North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, but by Pak Jong-chon, who is responsible for military and technical affairs and who praised the test’s results.
A hypersonic missile is notoriously difficult to intercept with existing missile defense systems. It travels at speeds of at least Mach 5, five times the speed of sound, and is designed to maneuver unpredictably while maintaining low-altitude flight paths.
Context of the Launch
Prior to this, North Korea had last fired short-range ballistic and cruise missiles toward the Sea of Japan on May 8 and 22, 2025. It was still under former President Yoon Suk Yeol. The subsequent pause in launches was interpreted by some as a period of evaluation of President Lee Jae Myung’s policies.
South Korean media were quick to note that “this launch, notably, appears to have been a show of force ahead of the upcoming visit of US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping to South Korea for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Summit,” scheduled for October 31–November 1. The summit will gather leaders from 21 Indo-Pacific nations, including Korea, the United States, and Japan, as well as prominent business figures such as Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang and SoftBank chairman Masayoshi Son. On the sidelines of the summit, President Lee is expected to discuss the North Korean issue with the US and Chinese leaders. In this context, South Korean experts believe Pyongyang may be seeking to step up pressure on Washington and Seoul, pushing for recognising it as a nuclear-armed state.
It is also worth noting that the missile launch further diminishes the already slim chance of a sudden meeting between the US and North Korean leaders during Donald Trump’s visit to South Korea. As the author previously highlighted, “the US President is unlikely to have any technical opportunity to meet Kim Jong Un on the sidelines of the APEC Summit in South Korea, due to Pyongyang categorically rejecting any mediation by the South. Holding a summit on South Korean soil without Lee Jae Myung’s participation would be virtually impossible. If such a meeting were to occur, Donald Trump would have to offer Pyongyang a ‘carrot’ of such a scale that it would be unacceptable and incomprehensible for the American establishment”.
Nonetheless, Seoul believes that “the missile launch could be an attempt by Pyongyang to raise the stakes ahead of any dialogue and extract concessions from Washington.” This has clearly made policymakers in Seoul apprehensive. The South Korean government, officials argue, must cooperate closely with Washington to “thwart any impulsive deal that would legitimize North Korea’s nuclear arsenal”! Such a move, they warn, “could trigger a nuclear domino effect across East Asia, prompting Japan and Taiwan to make use of their own deterrent capabilities.”
Reactions to the Launch
The United States condemned the launch, urging the North to refrain from further “unlawful” and “destabilizing” actions and reaffirming America’s “ironclad commitment” to the security of South Korea and Japan.
The ROK Joint Chiefs of Staff reported that “South Korean and US intelligence detected signs of North Korea’s preparations for a missile launch in advance and monitored the situation before tracking the launch immediately after it occurred.” The corresponding data, they added, were promptly shared with the United States and Japan. “South Korean military forces are closely monitoring the North’s movements within the framework of a robust joint defense strategy with the United States, maintaining both the capability and readiness to respond decisively to any provocation”.
Chinese media emphasised that the advanced level of this new weapon system vividly demonstrates North Korea’s continuous enhancement of its technological capabilities. Russian news agencies also reported the facts, but without emotional commentary.
In contrast, Western and South Korean media predictably labelled the launch a “provocation aimed at Seoul, given the short range,” arguing that it was “primarily a political and diplomatic demonstration of force.”
There are suggestions that “for Pyongyang, such a high-profile international event provides an opportunity to attract global attention through provocation. The regime has a long history of disrupting and thwarting major occasions—from the 1987 bombing of Korean Air Flight 858 on the eve of the Seoul Olympics to other attempts at sabotaging international events.” Although, from the author’s standpoint, the mysterious bombing incident is unlikely to have had any real connection to North Korea, it was exactly that event that placed the DPRK on the US list of state sponsors of terrorism.
Commentators also affirmed that “by resorting to missile launches on the eve of the summit, North Korea runs the risk of further alienating itself from the very community of ‘normal’ states whose recognition it claims to seek,” ignoring the way Pyongyang uses to continue to break through the diplomatic blockade.
Will There Be More Launches?
During its grand military parade, devoted to the 80th anniversary of the Workers’ Party of Korea, the DPRK unveiled its new intercontinental ballistic missile, the “Hwasong-20,” which is believed to be capable of striking any point on the US mainland and may be equipped with a multiple independently targetable reentry vehicle (MIRV) warhead.
According to South Korean experts, a test launch of the “Hwasong-20” could take place in the near future, “once again escalating the situation on the Korean Peninsula.” Now we wait and see, since Pyongyang’s position toward President Lee seems to have taken definite shape.
Konstantin Asmolov, PhD in History, leading research fellow at the Centre for Korean Studies of the Institute of China and Modern Asia at the Russian Academy of Sciences
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