The Hwasong-18 is a North Korean solid-fueled, intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM). It has a three-stage booster and is cold-launched, with a stated range of over 15,000 km. It is North Korea’s first solid-fueled ICBM.

Hwasong-18 Development

North Korea first revealed the Hwasong-18’s launch vehicle, a nine-axle transporter erector launcher (TEL), during a military parade on February 8, 2023, although the missile itself remained concealed inside a closed carrier.¹ The missile was publicly displayed and tested on April 13, 2023. North Korean officials characterized it as an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) designed to enhance the country’s nuclear deterrent.² North Korea stated the purpose of the test was, “to confirm the performance of the high-thrust solid-fuel engines for multi-stage missiles and the reliability of the stage-jettisoning technology and various control systems, and to estimate the military feasibility of the new strategic weapon system.”³ South Korea assessed the missile reached an apogee of 3,000–5,000 km and traveled 1,000 km before landing in the Sea of Japan.⁴

A second flight test of the Hwasong-18 took place on July 12, 2023, near Pyongyang, shortly after North Korea accused the United States of operating a reconnaissance aircraft inside its exclusive economic zone (EEZ).⁵ The launch also occurred days before the inaugural meeting of the United States-South Korea Nuclear Consultative Group on July 18, which denounced North Korea’s characterization of the test. Established under the Washington Declaration in 2023, the Group’s mandate is “to strengthen extended deterrence, discuss nuclear and strategic planning, and manage the threat to the nonproliferation regime posed by” North Korea.⁶ Japan reported that the missile flew for 74 minutes, reached an apogee of 6,000 km, and travelled a distance of 1,000 km, before it landed in the Sea of Japan.⁷ The North Korean state news network stated the missile reached an altitude of 6,648.4 km.⁸ South Korean experts highlighted the lofted trajectory of the second and third stages of the launch, suggesting that if it had flown on a normal trajectory, “it would have flown more than 15,000 km, long enough to strike any part of the continental US.”⁹

North Korea conducted the Hwasong-18’s third test on December 18, 2023, and its official reporting suggesting that the missile is now considered operationally deployed.  The test was successful, achieving a maximum altitude of 6,000 km, a range of 1,000 km, and a total flight time of 73-minutes.¹⁰ The HS-18 is the first solid-propellant ICBM, achieving one of Kim Jong Un’s key military modernization goals set in 2021.¹¹ Although smaller than the liquid-fueled Hwasong-17, the HS-18 offers significant operational advantages: solid-fuel missiles don’t require refueling vehicles, reducing the logistical burden of deployment making the system easier to hide from overhead surveillance.¹² Analysts assess that the HS-18 will expand North Korea’s ICBM arsenal rather than replace the existing Hwasong-15 or Hwasong-17 systems.¹³

Some analysts argue that the Hwasong-18 shares similarities to Russia’s Topol-M ICBM, suggesting possible cooperation between Russia and North Korea ICBM development; others counter that the missiles’ dimensions differ significantly and assert that Russia is unlikely to transfer advanced ICBM technical data to North Korea.¹⁸ Proponents of the cooperation theory point to the HS-18’s flight trajectory data and physical dimensions, and its ability to deploy multiple countermeasures to defeat missile defenses, claiming that these characteristics closely match the Topol.¹⁹

A number of other experts dispute these claims. They note that there is no evidence the HS-18 can carry multiple warheads, that the missile is longer than the Topol, and that while its overall configuration resembles Russian missiles, it also shares characteristics with the U.S.’s Minuteman III.²⁰ One expert further argues that North Korea has been steadily advancing toward developing a solid-propellant ICBM since 2017, and the HS-18’s emergence aligns with that trajectory rather than with sudden foreign assistance.²¹ There is evidence that North Korea has acquired equipment or research from post-Soviet states and has hacked Russian missile developers such as NPO Mashinostroyeniya, which may have accelerated aspects of its program.²² Nevertheless, the available evidence is unclear as to whether there was direct Russian-North Korean cooperation in developing the Hwasong-18.

Hwasong-18 Specifications

The Hwasong-18 is a three-stage ICBM measuring approximately 25 to 26.95 meters in length, with an estimated range of 15,000 km.²³ It has a diameter of 2.0 m and an estimated weight of 55 tons.²⁴ The missile is carried on a nine-axle TEL vehicle, housed in a protective canister that doubles as its launch tube, and is mounted on the vehicle’s front-middle section.²⁵