North Korea has the “most powerful” intercontinental ballistic missile. The new weapon was shown during the parade

North Korea unveiled its “most powerful” intercontinental ballistic missile during a military parade in Pyongyang, state media reported on Saturday. The event, marking the 80th anniversary of the Workers' Party of Korea, was attended by high-ranking representatives of Russia and China, which is a signal of strengthening cooperation.

During the parade that took place on Friday night, advanced weapons were presented, including the new Hwasong-20 ICBM missile mounted on an 11-axle transporter-launcher. The state news agency KCNA described it as the country's “most powerful nuclear strategic weapons system.” Long-range maneuvering missiles, drone launching vehicles and various types of missiles were also presented.

The agency stressed that the parade demonstrated North Korea's “inexhaustible potential of defense technology and astonishing pace of development” that the world “can no longer ignore.”

In his speech, Kim Jong Un referred to the participation of North Korean soldiers in the war against Ukraine, fighting on the side of Moscow. “The heroic fighting spirit and victory achieved by our revolutionary armed forces on foreign battlefields in the name of international justice (…) demonstrated ideological and spiritual perfection,” he said, as quoted by KCNA.

North Korea marked the 80th anniversary of its ruling party with a massive military parade in Pyongyang

Kim Jong Un personally oversaw the event and unveiled the new Hwasong-20 intercontinental ballistic missile — the most powerful weapon in North Korea's arsenal.

In his… pic.twitter.com/YYmUAAOiQC

— NEXTA (@nexta_tv) October 11, 2025

Earlier, Kim met with Dmitry Medvedev, deputy chairman of the Russian Security Council, who told him that the sacrifice of North Korean soldiers in the fight in the Kursk region confirmed friendship and trust between the nations.

According to South Korean intelligence, since October 2024, Pyongyang has sent approximately 13,000. soldiers to support the Russian army in the Kursk region, where Ukrainian forces operate.

Chinese Prime Minister Li Qiang and Vietnamese leader To Lam also took part in the celebrations.

Experts quoted by AFP point out that it was an opportunity to show strength and tighten Pyongyang's alliance with Moscow and Beijing. “It is crucial to view this parade not as an isolated event, but as the culmination of a deliberate, structural shift in the region's geopolitics,” said Seong-Hyon Lee of Harvard University. He added that this is “a clear warning that Seoul's strengthened alliance with Washington will be met at its doorstep by a consolidated and powerful trilateral bloc.”

Krzysztof Pawliszak (PAP)

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