How Hwasong-20 Raises North Korea’s Nuclear Threat and Targets the United States

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He Hwasong-20 represents the new generation of North Korean solid-fuel missilesa technological leap that, if its good performance is confirmed, would allow the country to launch its long-range projectiles more quickly and with less preparationthus reducing the possibility of prior detection by Western satellites or intelligence systems to intercept and destroy them.

state media North Korea They reported that the engine of the Hwasong-20 generates a thrust close to the 1,960 kilonewtonsis built with composite materials carbon fiber and uses an 11-axle launch vehicle (TEL)similar to the previous model, the Hwasong-19 missile.

It is estimated to have a range of around 15,000 kmwhich would allow, in theory, reach any point in the United States from North Korean territory.

However, North Korea has not yet made a complete flight test of the new missile.

It is also speculated that the Hwasong-20 could be designed to carry MIRV —multiple independent nuclear warheads—although there is no evidence that Pyongyang has yet successfully developed that capability.

“Our army must continue to grow until it becomes an invincible entity… It must be constantly strengthened into an elite armed forces that achieve victory after victory thanks to his morals and discipline”, Kim said during his speech.

The leader of North Korea He was accompanied by high-profile allies such as the Prime Minister of ChinaLi Qiang; the former president of RussiaDmitry Medvedev; and the head of the Communist Party of VietnamTo Lam.

At the beginning of September, North Korea performed its last ground test of a rocket engine solid fuel for a long-range ballistic missile. The success of this development will depend on whether the country has an arsenal that truly represents a threat to USA continental.

It was the ninth test of the engine, which is more powerful than previous models, according to the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).

According to the AP agency, in recent years North Korea has conducted flight tests of a variety of intercontinental ballistic missiles which demonstrated potential range to hit the continental United States, including those with built-in solid propellants, an evolution of liquid-fueled missiles.

Does Russia cooperate with North Korea?

After the parade where the Hwasong-20the head of the Joint Chiefs of Staff South Korea, Jin Young-seung said on Tuesday that Possibly its construction was thanks to Russian technology shared with the regime Kim.

According to Seoul, the speed with which North Korea advances in solid-fuel missiles—from the Hwasong-18 to the 20 in less than two years—would be difficult to achieve without outside assistance.

At this point, it should be noted that International sanctions imposed by the UN Security Council have weighed on North Korea since 2006.so no country can legally collaborate in the development of its arsenal.

The sanctions include arms embargoes, technology transfers and scientific or energy cooperation for military purposes.

Collaborating with North Korea would imply violate international law and could bring severe multilateral and bilateral sanctions.

Russia has denied any military cooperation that violates Security Council resolutionsbut Western officials maintain that Moscow would be exchanging technology for North Korean weaponsincluding artillery shells and short-range missiles used on the Ukrainian front. North Korea also sent troops to the Russian region of Kursk to evict the Ukrainian military.

Andrés Gómez de la Torrea specialist in defense and intelligence issues, told The Commerce that military cooperation between Russia and North Korea It is not new, but goes back to the times of the Cold warwhen Moscow began transferring military and missile technology to the North Korean communist regime.

In this historical context, the analyst explained, the current evolution of the missile Hwasong-20 should be understood as a continuation and deepening of that technical-military relationship.

The expert highlighted that North Korea has progressively advanced from short and medium range missiles to today having an intercontinental capacity estimated at 15,000 kilometerswhich places it between the powers with true nuclear deterrent power.

Gómez de la Torre stressed that the Hwasong-20 has visible similarities with Russian missileswhich reinforces suspicions of technological cooperation.

He recalled that in June 2024the Russian president Vladimir Putin and Kim Jong-un signed a comprehensive strategic partnership treatywhose article 10 explicitly contemplates mutual assistance in matters scientific, energy and nuclear.

According to Gómez de la Torre, It would not be strange if Russia has transferred missile technology to Pyongyang as part of an exchange: technical support in exchange for shipment of weapons or even North Korean personnel for the war in Ukraine.

The analyst concluded that this approach can be interpreted as the emergence of a “shared deterrence” between Moscow and Pyongyang against the United States, South Korea and Japan.