North Korea tests new hypersonic weapons system with Kim Jong Un in attendance

North Korea successfully tested a new weapons system, identified as the Hwasong-11Ma hypersonic missile, on September 20, 2026. Leader Kim Jong Un and his daughter Kim Ju Ae oversaw the launch, which Kim claimed would give enemies an 'incurable headache.' South Korea's military detected two missiles flying up to 600 kilometers, while Japan reported they landed outside its exclusive economic zone. The test highlights North Korea's advancing nuclear capabilities amid a diplomatic stalemate with the United States.

Hwasong-11Ma hypersonic missile test

• ▪North Korean state media photos of the September 20, 2026 Hwasong-11Ma missile test showed a monitoring screen displaying figures for a speed of 2,146 meters per second, an altitude of 35.8 kilometers, and a range of 908.2 kilometers
• ▪South Korea's military detected North Korea firing two short-range ballistic missiles three hours apart from the eastern coastal Wonsan area on Sunday, September 20, 2026, flying about 450 and 600 kilometers.
• ▪Japan's military reported that the two missiles launched by North Korea on Sunday, September 20, 2026, landed in waters outside Japan's exclusive economic zone.
• ▪North Korea successfully tested a new weapon showcasing ultra-modern defense technology on Sunday, September 20, 2026, which state media photos indicated was a Hwasong-11Ma missile previously described as hypersonic.
• ▪South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff spokesperson Jang Do-young stated that South Korea's military was assessing the September 20, 2026 missile test and cautioned that North Korea's claims about missile capabilities cannot be 100% trusted

Kim Jong Un war readiness

• ▪North Korean leader Kim Jong Un oversaw the September 20, 2026 missile test and praised the progress in strengthening the country's war readiness, stating it would give enemies an incurable headache.
• ▪North Korean leader Kim Jong Un stated that the September 20, 2026 test demonstrated a significant development in the country's armed forces' ability to fight and was of weighty significance in the state's readiness for war.

Kim Ju Ae succession positioning

• ▪North Korean leader Kim Jong Un was accompanied at the September 20, 2026 missile test by his teenage daughter, Kim Ju Ae, who is widely seen as his potential successor.
• ▪Photographs released by the Korean Central News Agency showed Kim Ju Ae inspecting a screen displaying a map of North Korea's east coast and the flight trajectory of the Hwasong-11Ma missile alongside her father, Kim Jong Un

North Korea nuclear arsenal expansion

• ▪North Korea has developed an extensive arsenal of nuclear-capable missiles, including long-range weapons potentially capable of reaching the United States mainland and shorter-range systems designed to overwhelm regional missile defenses.
• ▪Amid the September 20, 2026 missile test, North Korea's recent military displays include live-fire exercises, the commissioning of a new warship, and the development of hypersonic glide vehicles designed to travel at more than five times the speed of sound

US-North Korea diplomatic stalemate

• ▪The Hwasong-11Ma missile launches on September 20, 2026, occurred after U.S. President Donald Trump scaled back a joint military exercise with South Korea, an overture dismissed by Kim Jong Un's sister, Kim Yo Jong
• ▪South Korean President Lee Jae Myung expressed hope on Tuesday, September 22, 2026, that a resumption of Trump-Kim diplomacy would help reopen dialogue between the two Koreas, calling for a practical, step-by-step approach.
• ▪North Korea has stated that the United States must drop its hostile policy, including U.S.-led sanctions and joint military drills, and abandon demands for denuclearization as a precondition for talks.
• ▪The foreign ministers of South Korea, Japan, and the United States met on Monday, September 21, 2026, on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York to coordinate closely on the Korean Peninsula's denuclearization

Debatable claims

• ▪The US and its allies should offer incremental incentives for North Korean denuclearization
• ▪The US should drop denuclearization as a precondition for talks with North Korea
• ▪The US and South Korea should suspend joint military exercises to encourage diplomacy