North Korea Reveals Hwasong-20 ICBM Capable of Reaching U.S. Mainland

North Korea unveiled its latest Hwasong-20 intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) under development during a  military parade on Friday. Capable of striking the U.S. mainland, the Hwasong-20 was among several weapons systems the  regime showcased in a military parade held Friday night to mark the 80th anniversary of the founding of the ruling Workers' Party of Korea (WPK).

Photos released by the North's Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) on Saturday showed the Hwasong-20 rolling through Kim Il Sung Square in Pyongyang on an 11-axle transporter erector launcher (TEL), also used by the previous Hwasong-19 ICBM the North first fired in October last year.

"The spectators broke into the most enthusiastic cheers when the column of Hwasongpho-20 ICBMs, the most powerful nuclear strategic weapon system of the DPRK, entered the square, filling the track," the KCNA said, referring to North Korea by the acronym of its official name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.

North Korea's first disclosure of the Hwasong-20 comes after the North recently released updates on the development of the next-generation ICBM through state media reports last month.

On Sept. 1, Kim inspected the production of a new high-powered solid-fuel engine for the Hwasong-20 ICBM, the KCNA said, in what marked the North's first acknowledgement of the latest missile under development in the country's ICBM arsenal after the Hwasong-19.

North Korea said the new solid-fuel engine has a maximum thrust of 1,960 kilo-newtons and will be used for the Hwasong-19 ICBM line and the new Hwasong-20 ICBM.