Missile Hwasong-18

The Hwasong-18 is a three-stage, solid-fuelled intercontinental ballistic missile developed by North Korea. It is the country's first solid-fuelled ICBM. Canisters displayed at an April 2017 military parade may have indicated early work on solid-fuelled missile projects, including an ICBM. Kim Jong Un first referred to a solid-fuel ICBM in January 2021, when it was listed in a five-year arms development plan. On 15 December 2022, North Korea conducted a static ground test of a large solid-propellant rocket motor that produced 140 metric tons of thrust. The missile was first shown at the 8 February 2023 parade marking the 75th anniversary of the Korean People's Army. Four nine-axle launchers carried the missiles, which the television announcer identified only as "Hwasong-class missiles." The design differed from the earlier Pukguksong-5 solid-fuelled SLBM.

The Hwasong-18 is carried in a canister on a nine-axle transporter erector launcher and is cold-launched. The missile is ejected before first-stage ignition, which protects the launcher from the exhaust plume. Unlike liquid-fuelled missiles, it does not require hours of fuelling before launch and needs fewer accompanying support vehicles. This makes it easier to conceal and harder to pre-empt. One arms expert estimate puts the engine thrust at 100 tonnes-force. Data from the July 2023 test indicate that on an operational trajectory the missile can reach any point in the continental United States. The missile is nuclear-capable and can carry multiple independently targetable reentry vehicles (MIRV). German analysis suggests it could also serve as a launch vehicle for small satellites.

The first two stages of the Hwasong-18 form the basis of two intermediate-range ballistic missiles. The first is an unnamed IRBM with a maneuverable reentry vehicle, presumed to be the Hwasong-16A, first tested in January 2024. The second is the Hwasong-16B, first tested in April 2024. A larger derivative, the Hwasong-19, was unveiled with a flight test on 31 October 2024.

The Hwasong-18 is operated only by North Korea. Its first flight took place on 13 April 2023. The first stage flew a standard trajectory optimized for maximum range, and the second and third stages then pulled up into a highly lofted trajectory. During the first-stage burn the missile appeared likely to overfly Japan, and Japan issued a missile alarm. The second test, on 12 July 2023, produced the longest flight time and highest apogee of any North Korean ICBM flight up to that date. The missile was displayed again at a military parade on 27 July 2023. A third launch followed on 18 December 2023, which North Korea described as the "launching drill of an ICBM unit." This description likely confirmed that the missile had entered operational service.

North Korean state media has described the Hwasong-18 as the "future core pivotal means" of the country's strategic force and the "most powerful, pivotal and principal means" of its defense. It is to serve alongside the Hwasong-19 as North Korea's "primary core means in defending." The missile has also appeared in state propaganda, including a December 2023 poster and postage stamps issued on 27 July 2024.