North Korea's hypersonic ballistic missile surpasses Iskander-M

The test took place on October 22, the North Korean Army launched two missiles from Ryokpho district in the capital Pyongyang, towards the target area in North Hamgyong province, near the Chinese border.

Both missiles accurately hit their targets on the Kwesang plateau.

The newly tested missile first appeared at the National Defense Development Exhibition 2025 in Pyongyang in early October and is believed to be the successor to the KN-23 system – a weapon that has attracted the attention of observers for its high maneuverability and accuracy.

However, the biggest difference of the new missile model, designated Hwasong-11Ma, is the head part integrating a hypersonic glide vehicle (HGV).

This structure allows the warhead to change trajectory at extremely high speeds in the terminal phase, making interception almost impossible.

The Hwasong-11Ma still uses the same chassis, launch vehicle, and booster stage as the KN-23, but the addition of hypersonic glide technology takes it to a whole new level.

Previously, in March 2024, North Korea announced the Hwasong-16B medium-range ballistic missile, the world's first medium-range weapon equipped with a hypersonic glide warhead. With the Hwasong-11Ma, Pyongyang continues to become the first country to integrate this technology into a short-range missile system, thereby opening an unprecedented direction in the field of tactical weapons.

The KN-23 series is considered an upgraded copy of Russia's Iskander-M, with the ability to fly in a low orbit of only about 50 km and perform flexible maneuvers that make it difficult for radar to track. However, equipped with a hypersonic warhead, the Hwasong-11Ma is considered to surpass the Iskander-M in terms of speed, defense penetration ability and accuracy.

Speaking after the launch, Pak Jong-chon, secretary of the Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea, said the test results demonstrated "a steady upgrade in the DPRK's self-defense technical capabilities." He also called the Hwasong-11Ma "a new strategic weapon of special significance," praising the team of engineers and scientists for making great progress in a short period of time.

Analysts say that with the Hwasong-11Ma, North Korea has become the third country in the world, after Russia and China, to possess a ballistic missile using a hypersonic glide warhead.

However, Pyongyang’s deployment of this technology on short-range missiles is unprecedented, not only expanding its tactical strike capabilities, but also posing a major challenge to the missile defense systems of the US, South Korea and Japan.

Notably, North Korea is believed to have exported variants of the Hwasong-11, specifically the KN-23 and KN-24 systems, to Russia recently. Therefore, the possibility that Pyongyang also offered the Hwasong-11Ma to Moscow is very high.