North Korea claims Sunday’s launches were of upgraded hypersonic missiles

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un was accompanied by his daughter, Ju-ae, when overseeing the test launch of a hypersonic missile at the Missile Administration’s headquarters on Sept. 20, 2026. (KCNA/Yonhap)

North Korea on Tuesday revealed that its two missile launches on Sunday were tests of the Hwasong-11E-1, an upgraded version of its hypersonic short-range ballistic missile.

“The Missile Administration of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea successfully tested a new-type weapon, which is of great significance in the rapid technological development of weapon systems, on September 20,” the state-run Korean Central News Agency said. 

The Rodong Sinmun, the official daily of the North’s ruling Workers’ Party, released a photo showing North Korean leader Kim Jong-un watching a test launch with his daughter Ju-ae. The text “Flight trajectory of Hwasong-11E-1” was visible on the monitor they were watching.

A screen capture taken at 6:04:10 pm displayed the following data: time 446.1 s (seconds), speed 2,146 m/s, altitude 35.8 km and distance 908.2 km. If the missile followed this flight path, the distance would differ from the ranges announced by the Joint Chiefs of Staff in Seoul (450 and 600 km) and Japan (590 km).

Unlike a ballistic missile, a hypersonic glide vehicle might have flown farther at a low altitude — where radar detection is difficult — on a trajectory involving a pull-up maneuver of ascending after descending during its descent phase.

“If North Korea’s claim is accurate, this means that the North’s missile glided and maneuvered for 300 km or more while South Korea or Japan failed to detect its terminal maneuvering phase,” said Hong Min, a senior research fellow at the Korea Institute for National Unification in Seoul. 

“We cannot 100% trust the methods North Korea uses to make claims and conduct propaganda,” added Jang Do-young, a spokesperson for the Joint Chiefs of Staff in Seoul. “Please bear in mind that North Korea is adept at such strategies and tactics when viewing this.”

Kim Jong-un touted the test as having “weighty significance in the state’s preparedness for war and the long-term development of the armed forces.”

“Such reality would give the enemy an incurable headache and a very cruel and unavoidable blow,” the North Korean leader said.