Hwasong (missile family)
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The Hwasong (Korean: 화성; lit. 'Mars'), or recently called Hwasongpho (화성포; lit. 'Mars Artillery') is a North Korean family of ballistic missile.
Hwasongpho designation
The Hwasong means Mars in Korean. "Hwasong" also means "powerful", "innovative" or "sacrifice".[1] However, North Korea has not clarified why they name their ballistic missiles after the planet Mars.[2]
According to The Hankyoreh, the missiles in Hwasong series tend to be more complicated and increase in range as the designation number grows.[2]
The Hwasong designation number also indicates the North Korea's missile development timelines.[3]
In North Korea, Hwasong is also the name of a concentration camp.[1]
While English-language media outlets use the simplied "Hwasong", North Korean state media currently uses "Hwasongpho" to refer to its ballistic missiles.[4]
The original Hwasong naming standard was changed to Hwasongpho at an unknown date. This naming standard was first confirmed in October 2021, when the Hwasongpho designations of Hwasong-11B, Hwasong-15 and Hwasong-17 were spotted, although the first usage of Hwasongpho was in 2017, when the Moranbong Band released a song named Song of Hwasong Artillery (화성포의 노래) after a successful test-fire of Hwasong-14.[5]
List of missiles
| Official designation | Korean name | External name(s) | Classfication | Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hwasong-1 | 《화성-1》형 | FROG-5 | Rocket artillery | Hwasong-1 is the official designation given to locally produced version of Soviet Union's FROG-5 artillery rocket.[6] |
| Hwasong-2 | 《화성-2》형 | S-75 | Surface-to-surface missile | Hwasong-2 is the official designation given to surface-to-surface version of S-75 Dvina surface-to-air missile.[7] |
| Hwasong-3 | 《화성-3》형 | 9K52 Luna-M | Rocket artillery | Hwasong-3 is the official designation given to locally produced 9K52 Luna-M artillery rockets from Soviet Union.[3] |
| Hwasong-4 | 《화성-4》형 | Short-range ballistic missile | ||
| Hwasong-5 | 《화성-5》형 | Scud-B | Short-range ballistic missile | Hwasong-5 is a liquid-fueled, short-range ballistic missile. North Korea began testing the missile in 1984. Hwasong-5's range is estimated to be 300 km (190 mi). The Hwasong-5 was reported to be exported to other countries.[8] |
| Hwasong-6 | 《화성-6》형 | Scud-C | Short-range ballistic missile | Hwasong-6 is a liquid-fueled, short-range ballistic missile. Its estimated range is 500 km (310 mi). The Hwasong-6 was reported to be exported to other countries.[9] |
| Hwasong-7 | 《화성-7》형 | Rodong Nodong Rodong-1 Nodong-1 Scud-D Scud Mod-D Nodong-A |
Medium-range ballistic missile | Hwasong-7 is a liquid-fueled, medium-range ballistic missile, which was first tested in May 1990. Its estimated range is 500 km (310 mi).[10] |
| Hwasong-8 | 《화성-8》형 | Unknown | Medium-range ballistic missile[11] | Hwasong-8 is a liquid-fueled, medium-range ballistic missile, which was first tested in 27 September 2021.[11] Its estimated range is 2,000–4,000 km (1,200–2,500 mi).[12] |
| Hwasong-9 | 《화성-9》형 | KN-04 Scud-ER |
Medium-range ballistic missile | Hwasong-9 is a liquid-fueled, medium-range ballistic missile.[13] It is the enlarged version of Hwasong-6, with extended range, up to 1,000 km (620 mi).[14] |
| Hwasong-10 | 《화성-10》형 | BM-25 Musudan |
Medium-range or intermediate-range ballistic missile | Hwasong-10 is a liquid-fueled, intermediate-range ballistic missile, with an assumed range of 2,500–4,000 km (1,600–2,500 mi).[15] |
| Hwasong-11 | 《화성-11》형 | KN-02 Toksa |
Short-range ballistic missile | Hwasong-11 is a reverse-engineered, locally produced modification of the Soviet's OTR-21 Tochka solid-fueled, short-range ballistic missile. Its maximum range is 120–170 km (75–106 mi). It was first tested in 2006.[16] |
| Hwasong-11A | 《화성포-11가》형 | KN-23 | Short-range ballistic missile | Hwasong-11A is a single-stage, solid-fueled short-range ballistic missile that has an external resemblance to the Russian Iskander-M and South Korean Hyunmoo-2B short-range ballistic missiles,[17] with a maximum range of 900 km (560 mi).[18] Hwasong-11A made its public debut in 2018 and was first test-fired in May 2019.[19] |
| Hwasong-11B | 《화성포-11나》형 | KN-24 | Short-range ballistic missile | Hwasong-11B is a single-stage, solid-fueled short-range ballistic missile that has an external resemblance to the United States's ATACMS. Hwasong-11B has a maximum range of 410 km (250 mi). It was first test-fired in August 2019.[20] |
| Hwasong-11C | 《화성포-11다》형 | KN-23A KN-23B KN-30 |
Short-range ballistic missile | Hwasong-11C is a single-stage, solid-fueled short-range ballistic missile that is the larger variant of Hwasong-11A with a closely similar design. It was first tested on 25 March 2021.[21][22] First tested in March 2021, the missile's range is assumed to be about 600 km (370 mi).[23] |
| Hwasong-11C-4.5 | 《화성포-11다-4.5》 | Unknown | Short-range ballistic missile | Hwasong-11C-4.5 is the larger warhead variant of Hwasong-11C, first test-fired on 1 July 2024.[24] |
| Hwasong-11D | 《화성포-11라》형 | KN-35[25] | Tactical ballistic missile Short-range ballistic missile |
Hwasong-11D is a single-stage, solid-fueled, short-range ballistic missile that is the smaller variant of Hwasong-11A.[26] Made its public debut in April 2022,[23] the missile's assumed range is similar to original Hwasong-11.[27] |
| Hwasong-11E | 화성-11마 | Unknown | Short-range ballistic missile | The Hwasong-11E is a solid-fueled, short-range ballistic missile that is a Hwasong-11C-based variant of Hwasong-11A with hypersonic glide vehicle, first displayed in 2025 during a military exhibition.[28] |
| Hwasong-11S | 《화성포-11ㅅ》형 | KN-33[25] | Submarine-launched ballistic missile | Hwasong-11S is a solid-fueled submarine-launched ballistic missile that is the underwater-launched variant of Hwasong-11A.[26] First displayed and first tested both in October 2021,[29][30] the missile's reported range is about 600 km (370 mi).[31] |
| Hwasong-12 | 《화성-12》형 《화성포-12》형 |
KN-17 | Intermediate-range ballistic missile | Hwasong-12 is a liquid-fueled, intermediate-range ballistic missile that have the first successful test in May 2017, with estimated range of 4,500 km (2,800 mi).[32] |
| Hwasong-12A[a] | 《화성-12가》형[a] | Hypersonic Missile Type 2[33] | Medium-range or intermediate-range ballistic missile[11] | Hwasong-12A is presumed to be the official designation for a North Korean single-stage, liquid-fueled, hypersonic ballistic missile.[34] Tested twice in January 2022,[11] the estimated range of Hwasong-12A is over 2,000 km (1,200 mi).[12] |
| Hwasong-12B | 《화성-12나》형 | Unknown | Intermediate-range ballistic missile | Hwasong-12B is a North Korean single-stage, liquid-fueled hypersonic, intermediate-range ballistic missile that was first displayed in July 2023.[22] Its range is estimated to be over 6,000 km (3,700 mi).[35] |
| Hwasong-13 | 《화성-13》형 | KN-08 (2012 version) KN-14 (2015 version) |
Intermediate-range or intercontinental ballistic missile | Hwasong-13 is the officially-called generic name to describe two liquid-fueled, road-mobile intercontinental ballistic missiles, called KN-08 and KN-14 by the United States. The two never-deployed missile variants have an estimated range of 8,000–10,000 km (5,000–6,200 mi).[36] |
| Hwasong-14 | 《화성-14》형 | KN-20 | Intercontinental ballistic missile | Hwasong-14 is a liquid-fueled intercontinental ballistic missile that was tested twice in July 2017. The missile's estimated maximum range is more than 10,400 km (6,500 mi).[37] |
| Hwasong-15 | 《화성-15》형 《화성포-15》형 |
KN-22 | Intercontinental ballistic missile | Hwasong-15 is a liquid-fueled intercontinental ballistic missile that was first tested in November 2017. Its estimated maximum range is more than 13,000 km (8,100 mi).[38] Hwasong-15 also has a modified version, which was tested in November 2022.[39] |
| Hwasong-16A[a] | 《화성-16가》형[a] | Unknown | Intermediate-range ballistic missile | Hwasong-16A is presumed to be the official designation for a solid-fueled hypersonic, intermediate-range ballistic missile, first tested in January 2024.[34][40][41] |
| Hwasong-16B | 《화성포-16나》형 | Unknown | Intermediate-range ballistic missile | Hwasong-16B is a two-stage, solid-fueled, intermediate-range ballistic missile capable of carrying hypersonic glide vehicle, first tested in April 2024.[42] |
| Hwasong-17 | 《화성포-17》형 | KN-27 | Intercontinental ballistic missile | Hwasong-17 is a two-stage, liquid-fueled intercontinental ballistic missile that was first displayed in October 2020 and first tested in March 2022.[43] Its estimated range is 15,000 km (9,300 mi).[44] |
| Hwasong-18 | 《화성포-18》형 | Unknown | Intercontinental ballistic missile | Hwasong-18 is a three-stage, solid-fueled intercontinental ballistic missile that was first tested in April 2023, with an assumed range of 15,000 km (9,300 mi).[45] |
| Hwasong-19 | 《화성포-19》형 | Unknown | Intercontinental ballistic missile | Hwasong-19 is a three-stage, solid-fueled intercontinental ballistic missile that was first tested in October 2024. Its assumed range is at least 15,000 km (9,300 mi).[46][47] |
| Hwasong-20 | 《화성포-20》형 | Unknown | Intercontinental ballistic missile | Hwasong-20 is a "next-generation" ICBM, first revealed in September 2025.[48][49] |
