Reported by:
Cherry Meigh Timbol
News Content Editor
Published October 13, 2026
PYONGYANG, North Korea — North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has showcased his country’s long-range missile arsenal, including an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) designed to reach the United States mainland, according to state media footage released this week.
The display at the newly opened Defence Revolution Museum in North Korea highlights Pyongyang’s continued development of strategic weapons as Washington considers the possibility of renewed direct talks with Kim. The exhibition includes the Hwasong-20 ICBM, alongside drones, submarine-launched missiles and other weapons developed under Kim’s leadership.
Kim visited the museum on Sunday, October 11, accompanied by his wife, Ri Sol Ju, and his daughter, Ju Ae. North Korean state media publicized the visit on Tuesday, October 13.
The display comes amid continued tensions on the Korean Peninsula and a recent series of North Korean missile launches.
Hwasong-20 Takes Center Stage
The Hwasong-20 was among the most prominent weapons displayed at the museum. The missile is designed as a next-generation ICBM capable of delivering nuclear warheads over intercontinental distances.
Photographs published by North Korea’s Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) showed the missile alongside a world map illustrating its claimed reach. The display appeared to depict a multiple-warhead configuration, suggesting an emphasis on expanding the missile’s potential payload capabilities. However, the exhibition alone does not independently verify the system’s operational performance.
The Hwasong-20 has not been flight-tested, according to reporting by The Wall Street Journal. Its actual performance, reliability and ability to deliver multiple warheads therefore remain unverified publicly.
The museum also features earlier Hwasong-series ICBMs, submarine-launched ballistic missiles, short-range hypersonic weapons, cruise missiles, attack drones and other military equipment. The collection presents North Korea’s weapons development as a central achievement of Kim’s leadership.
Trump Raises Possibility of Meeting Kim
The exhibition was publicized shortly after Trump said he might meet Kim during a planned trip to Asia next month. Trump is expected to attend the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in Shenzhen, China, in mid-November.
Speaking to reporters at the White House on Monday, October 12, Trump indicated that a meeting was possible. North Korea had not publicly confirmed whether Kim would participate in talks with the American president as of the latest reports.
Trump and Kim met three times during Trump’s first presidency, including their 2018 Singapore summit and their 2019 meetings in Vietnam and the Korean Demilitarized Zone. Their diplomatic engagement failed to produce a lasting agreement on North Korea’s nuclear weapons program.
Formal nuclear negotiations between Washington and Pyongyang have remained stalled since 2019. North Korea has continued expanding its weapons programs while rejecting demands that it abandon its nuclear arsenal.
North Korea Continues Missile Tests
The weapons display followed additional ballistic missile launches reported by South Korea and Japan on October 12.
South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said North Korea launched multiple ballistic missiles toward waters off its eastern coast. Japan reported detecting at least two launches, with one missile traveling more than 900 kilometers (approximately 560 miles). The weapons landed in waters outside Japan’s exclusive economic zone, according to Japanese officials.
North Korea subsequently reported testing a tactical ballistic missile to verify an upgrade to a key component. Its state media described the test as an improvement to the performance of its weapons systems but did not disclose detailed technical data.
The launches were part of a broader series of weapons tests conducted by Pyongyang in October, including tests involving hypersonic missile technology.
North Korea’s ballistic missile development remains subject to United Nations Security Council resolutions prohibiting its ballistic missile activities.
