North Korea Tests New Hwasong-11Ma-1 Hypersonic Missile Signaling Operational Deployment

North Korea's Missile Administration Bureau launched two missiles from the Wonsan area on September 20, identified by a display screen in KCNA imagery as the "Hwasongpho-11Ma-1," an upgraded version of the Hwasong-11Ma hypersonic glide weapon first unveiled in October 2025 12. South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff and Japan's Ministry of Defense assessed the two missiles flew roughly 450 and 600 kilometers respectively, reaching altitudes of 60 and 70 kilometers 1. North Korean state imagery displayed a markedly longer single-flight figure of 908.2 kilometers and 35.8 kilometers altitude; South Korean analysts told Yonhap the discrepancy may reflect an altered or selectively presented figure 2. Kim Jong Un, accompanied by his daughter Kim Ju Ae, oversaw the test and called the weapon an "irresistible force" and "incurable headache" for adversaries, according to KCNA 13. Japan's Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi stated North Korea has conducted at least 15 ballistic missile or projectile launches across nine occasions in 2026, versus five launches on four occasions in 2025, and said Japan lodged a formal protest through North Korea's embassy in Beijing 1.