Should reach all the way to the USA
North Korea unveils new ICBM
Oct 11, 2025 – 8:04 a.mReading time: 2 minutes
North Korea sets off propaganda fireworks on the 80th birthday of the Workers’ Party. Leader Kim Jong Un demonstrates a new weapons system to his visitors from China and Russia.
At the first major military parade in two years, North Korea’s leadership in the capital Pyongyang also demonstrated the country’s new intercontinental ballistic missile for the first time. The state news agency KCNA praised the “Hwasong-20” missile, which was presented to international guests, in a report as the “most powerful nuclear strategic weapon system.” North Korea’s leader Kim Jong Un called on the armed forces in a speech to develop into an “invincible” unit that destroys “all threats.”
The reason for the military parade in Kim Il Sung Square, named after Kim’s grandfather, was the 80th anniversary of the founding of Korea’s ruling Workers’ Party. Among the spectators were China’s Prime Minister Li Qiang, Russia’s former President Dmitry Medvedev and the general secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam, To Lam. A photo showed the three of them at Kim’s side.
Further photos of the parade on Friday evening (local time) showed the meter-long “Hwasong-20” rolling past numerous spectators with North Korean flags. The weapon is believed to have a long enough range to hit targets in the United States. As KCNA reported, the army also presented other weapon systems such as hypersonic missiles.
The country, which is largely isolated internationally and subject to sanctions, last held a similarly large military parade in 2023. The occasion was the 75th anniversary of the founding of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea – North Korea’s official name.
At the beginning of September, Kim watched a military parade of the People’s Liberation Army in Beijing alongside Russian President Vladimir Putin and China’s President Xi Jinping on one of his rare visits abroad. In bilateral talks then and now in Pyongyang, North Korea and its important ally China emphasized their willingness to engage more closely with one another.
