North Korea unveils new Long Range Missile during military parade.

North Korea unveiled a new intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) during a military parade in Pyongyang’s Kim Il Sung Square, with leader Kim Jong Un and senior officials from China and Russia in attendance. Kim Jong Un have used the event marking the 80th founding anniversary of the North’s ruling Workers’ Party of Korea to showcase the next-generation Hwasong-20 ICBM, which the North’s Korean officials called “the most powerful nuclear strategic weapon”.

The spectators broke into the most enthusiastic cheers when the column of Hwasongpho – 20 ICBMs, the most powerful nuclear strategic weapon system of the DPRK, entered the square, filling the track, using the acronym for the North’s formal name, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.

The solid-fuelled missile, which is currently under development, is believed to have a range of 15,000 kilometres, putting all of the United States within striking distance like the Hwasong-19. The missile is also thought to be capable of carrying multiple warheads, a development that could further confound missile defences. Last month, the North said it had conducted a final test of a powerful new engine, with it registering a maximum thrust of 1,960 kilonewtons, heightening concerns that the new missile could be equipped with a multiple independently targetable re-entry vehicle (MIRV) payload.

The parade also featured “columns of missile systems loaded with hypersonic gliding vehicles and hypersonic intermediate-range strategic missile systems“, as well as a number of “long-range strategic cruise missile systems, drones, surface-to-air and surface-to-surface missile systems“, demonstrating the “eye-opening development speed of the DPRK which the world cannot ignore”. In his speech, Kim Jong Un called for his military to continue to develop into an “invincible” force.

“Our army should continue to grow into an invincible entity that destroys all threats approaching our range of self-defence by dint of its political, ideological, military and technical superiority overwhelming the enemy, and it should steadily strengthen itself into elite armed forces which win victory after victory on the strength of morality and discipline“, as local media affirmed.

But pointedly, the North Korean leader did not deliver any direct threats toward the United States or South Korea. Earlier towards the end of September 2025, Kim said that he is open to talks with the U.S. if Washington drops its longstanding demand that Pyongyang relinquish its nuclear weapons, offering up warm words to U.S. President Donald Trump. The North Korean leader has left the door open for a return to summit diplomacy, saying he has “fond memories” of the American president, whom he met a total of three times in 2018 and 2019.

Trump, who has similarly expressed an eagerness to restart talks with Kim, could get a chance as soon as the end of October, when the U.S. President is expected to travel to South Korea for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in the city of Gyeongju.

Friday’s parade came as Chinese Premier Li Qiang, former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and Vietnam’s Communist Party chief, To Lam, as well as other foreign dignitaries were in Pyongyang for the festivities. The event was part of a flurry of diplomatic moves by North Korea in recent weeks that has seen Pyongyang dispatch top officials to Beijing, Moscow and the United Nations.

Surprisingly, Iran was not present in Friday’s military parade, as it is one of the founder member of CRINK (China; Russia; Iran; North Korea).

Team Maverick