On Friday, October 10, 2025, Pyongyang held a grand military parade marking the 80th anniversary of the founding of the Workers’ Party of Korea. The parade took place on Kim Il Sung Square in the center of North Korea’s capital. From the main tribune, top leaders and foreign guests watched the ranks of soldiers and military equipment pass by—including Chinese Premier Li Qiang, former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, and Vietnamese Communist Party chief To Lam. The highlight of the ceremony was the unveiling of the new intercontinental ballistic missile Hwasong-20, described by North Korean state media as the country’s “most powerful strategic nuclear system.”
At the military parade in North Korea, the new intercontinental ballistic missile Hwasong-20 was presented, capable of carrying multiple nuclear warheads and, according to Pyongyang, striking targets at distances of up to 15,000 kilometers.
According to The Wall Street Journal, the display of the missile was meant to underscore the strengthening of an anti-Western bloc: on the reviewing stand beside Kim Jong Un stood Russian Security Council Deputy Chairman Dmitry Medvedev and Chinese Premier Li Qiang.
In addition to the Hwasong-20, the parade featured North Korea’s latest military hardware, including drones, tanks, and missile launchers.
The missile is believed to still be under development, but it could give Kim a more powerful deterrent and greater leverage in any future negotiations. Its range covers the U.S. mainland, while its solid-fuel engine allows for faster deployment and makes detection more difficult.
The parade’s military column was led by a North Korean officer who had taken part in combat operations in Russia’s Kursk region.