North Korea tracker — missile tests, Kim Jong Un and live intel
✦Every reported North Korean missile launch and weapons test, its ICBMs from the Hwasong-14 to the Hwasong-19, Kim Jong Un, escalation against South Korea, Russia and China ties, sanctions and daily life — collected from 310+ graded news outlets and government sources, in one place. Latest: “North Korea tests new ‘high-speed’ torpedo system” (Inquirer, 56m ago).
North Korea’s ICBMs
✦All five drawn to the same scale. Grey = liquid fuel (needs fuelling before launch, which can be seen); green = solid fuel (stored ready to fire). Lengths are open-source estimates and vary by source.
- Fuel
- Liquid · 2 stages
- Length
- ≈19.5 m (estimate)
- Range
- ≈10,000 km — Alaska and the western US
- First flight
- Jul 4, 2017
- Highest test
- July 28, 2017 · about 3,700 km high · 47 min
- Launcher
- Carried on an 8-axle truck, fired from a ground stand
North Korea’s first ICBM.
- Fuel
- Liquid · 2 stages
- Length
- ≈21.5 m (estimate)
- Range
- ≈13,000 km — the whole continental US
- First flight
- Nov 29, 2017
- Highest test
- Nov 29, 2017 · 4,475 km high · 53 min
- Launcher
- 9-axle truck
Larger second stage; the 2017 test that prompted the last round of UN sanctions.
- Fuel
- Liquid · 2 stages
- Length
- ≈25 m (estimate)
- Range
- ≈15,000 km — the whole US
- First flight
- Nov 18, 2022
- Highest test
- Nov 18, 2022 · 6,040 km high · 69 min
- Launcher
- 11-axle truck
Among the largest road-mobile liquid-fuel missiles ever built — the “monster missile”.
- Fuel
- Solid · 3 stages
- Length
- ≈24 m (estimate)
- Range
- ≈15,000 km — the whole US
- First flight
- Apr 13, 2023
- Highest test
- Dec 18, 2023 · 6,518 km high · 73 min
- Launcher
- Road-mobile, fired from a canister
First solid-fuel ICBM: ready to fire in minutes, with no fuelling to give it away.
- Fuel
- Solid · 3 stages
- Length
- ≈28 m (estimate)
- Range
- ≈15,000 km+ — the whole US
- First flight
- Oct 31, 2024
- Highest test
- Oct 31, 2024 · 7,687 km high · 86 min (North Korea’s figures; its longest flight)
- Launcher
- Road-mobile, fired from a canister
Largest solid-fuel ICBM North Korea has shown; called its “final version” ICBM.
Illustrations by WARNPOINT, not photographs. Flight figures are the published numbers for each named test (North Korea’s, Japan’s or South Korea’s).
Weapons test log
✦| Nov 9, 2026 | Torpedo / underwater weapon | North Korea tests new ‘high-speed’ torpedo system INQUIRER7 outlets |
Built automatically from headlines that say North Korea fired, launched or tested a weapon — one row per day and weapon type. Plans, threats, “could launch” and analysis are left out. Faded rows come from a single outlet that is not A/B graded.
Escalation against South Korea
✦How North Korea puts pressure on the South — the ladder below is WARNPOINT’s reading guide, and every example is a documented case.
- 1RhetoricStatements and threats from Kim Jong Un, Kim Yo Jong or KCNA; South Korea named an enemy.
- 2Grey-zone pressureTrash balloons, GPS jamming, loudspeakers, cyberattacks, cutting hotlines.
- 3Border violationsSoldiers or drones crossing the line, artillery drills in the buffer zones, demolishing border links.
- 4Shots firedWarning shots, exchanges of fire at the DMZ or the Northern Limit Line at sea.
- 5Lethal attackAttacks that kill South Koreans — the Cheonan sinking and the Yeonpyeong shelling (2010).
Latest from the border
- Thousands flock to South Korean border park for rare view of North Korean weapon✦SOUTH CHINA MORNING POST28h ago
Past escalations — examples
- 3Border roads and railways blown up Oct 15, 2024
North Korea blows up the road and rail links to the South on its side of the border and fortifies the line.
- 2Trash balloons May 28, 2024
The first of thousands of balloons carrying rubbish and manure are sent south; some land on the presidential compound in Seoul.
- 1South Korea named the “principal enemy” Jan 15, 2024
Kim Jong Un abandons the goal of reunification and orders the constitution changed to treat the South as a separate, hostile state.
- 22018 military pact scrapped Nov 23, 2023
North Korea says it is no longer bound by the 2018 Comprehensive Military Agreement and re-arms border guard posts.
- 3Drones over Seoul Dec 26, 2022
Five North Korean drones cross the border; one reaches northern Seoul before South Korea’s military loses track.
- 3Liaison office blown up Jun 16, 2020
North Korea demolishes the inter-Korean liaison office at Kaesong, built in 2018 to keep the two sides talking.
- 3DMZ landmine blasts Aug 4, 2015
Mines planted on the southern side of the DMZ maim two South Korean soldiers; the two sides exchange artillery fire on Aug 20.
- 5Yeonpyeong Island shelling Nov 23, 2010
North Korean artillery shells a South Korean island, killing two marines and two civilians — the first attack on civilian land since the war.
- 5ROKS Cheonan sinking Mar 26, 2010
A South Korean navy corvette is sunk by a torpedo, an international investigation finds; 46 sailors die. North Korea denies it.
- 4Second Battle of Yeonpyeong Jun 29, 2002
North Korean patrol boats attack a South Korean vessel at the sea border; six South Korean sailors are killed.
- 5Korean Air Flight 858 Nov 29, 1987
North Korean agents bomb a South Korean airliner over the Andaman Sea; all 115 aboard die.
- 5Rangoon bombing Oct 9, 1983
A bomb aimed at President Chun Doo-hwan in Burma kills 21, including four South Korean cabinet ministers.
- 5Panmunjom axe murders Aug 18, 1976
North Korean soldiers kill two US Army officers trimming a tree in the Joint Security Area.
- 5Blue House raid Jan 21, 1968
31 North Korean commandos try to assassinate President Park Chung-hee in Seoul; dozens are killed in the fighting.
Latest North Korea headlines
✦- North Korea tests new ‘high-speed’ torpedo system✦INQUIRER56m ago
- North Korea plans to deploy new high-speed torpedo in early 2027✦EL UNIVERSO1h ago
- A trip to the South Korean seaside for glimpses of my North Korean hometown✦RADIO FREE ASIA3h ago
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- North Korea tests high-speed torpedo in Sea of Japan✦DW ESPAÑOL5h ago
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- N. Korea's nuclear power recognition demand could hinder prospects for Trump-Kim summit: ex-US official✦KOREA HERALD5h ago
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- After the Midterms, Seoul and Washington Need a North Korea Policy That Outlasts Elections✦THE DIPLOMAT15h ago
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- Policy rift emerges within Seoul over N. Korea sanctions✦KOREA HERALD23h ago
Missiles, nuclear & military
✦- North Korea tests new ‘high-speed’ torpedo system✦INQUIRER56m ago
- North Korea plans to deploy new high-speed torpedo in early 2027✦EL UNIVERSO1h ago
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- North Korea tests high-speed torpedo in Sea of Japan✦DW ESPAÑOL5h ago
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Kim Jong Un & the leadership
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South Korea, the US & Japan
✦- A trip to the South Korean seaside for glimpses of my North Korean hometown✦RADIO FREE ASIA3h ago
- N. Korea's nuclear power recognition demand could hinder prospects for Trump-Kim summit: ex-US official✦KOREA HERALD5h ago
- After the Midterms, Seoul and Washington Need a North Korea Policy That Outlasts Elections✦THE DIPLOMAT15h ago
- Policy rift emerges within Seoul over N. Korea sanctions✦KOREA HERALD23h ago
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- 800 Rally in Tokyo to demand North Korea abductees’ immediate return✦JAPAN TIMES41h ago
Sanctions, cyber & money
✦- FBI-wanted N. Korean hacker back in spotlight✦KOREA HERALD23h ago
Inside North Korea
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- North Korean Orphans Fast Tracked Into State Care To Stem Declining Birth Rate✦EURASIA REVIEW28h ago
Timeline · key moments
✦- Oct 31, 2024Hwasong-19 solid-fuel ICBM test
- Oct 2024North Korean troops reported deployed to Russia; later confirmed fighting in the Kursk region
- Jun 19, 2024Comprehensive strategic partnership treaty with Russia, with a mutual-defence clause
- Nov 21, 2023Malligyong-1 military reconnaissance satellite reaches orbit
- Apr 13, 2023First solid-fuel ICBM test (Hwasong-18)
- Nov 18, 2022First confirmed full flight of the Hwasong-17, North Korea’s largest liquid-fuel ICBM
- Mar 24, 2022ICBM launch (announced as a Hwasong-17) ends a self-imposed ICBM moratorium in place since 2017
- Feb 28, 2019Hanoi summit ends early without a deal
- Jun 12, 2018Kim Jong Un and Donald Trump meet in Singapore — first US–North Korea summit
- Nov 29, 2017Hwasong-15 ICBM test, judged able to reach the whole continental US
- Sep 3, 2017Sixth and largest nuclear test — North Korea claims a hydrogen bomb
- Jul 4, 2017First ICBM test (Hwasong-14)
- Dec 17, 2011Kim Jong Il dies; Kim Jong Un takes power
- Oct 9, 2006First nuclear test, at Punggye-ri
Key facts
✦- Capital
- Pyongyang
- Leader
- Kim Jong Un — in power since December 2011 (third generation of the Kim family)
- Ruling party
- Workers’ Party of Korea
- Population
- ≈25.7 million (UN estimate)
- Nuclear tests
- Six — 2006, 2009, 2013, January 2016, September 2016 and September 2017 (all at Punggye-ri)
- Main nuclear site
- Yongbyon Nuclear Scientific Research Center (plutonium and uranium enrichment)
- Armed forces
- About 1.3 million active personnel (IISS estimate) — one of the largest standing armies in the world
- State media
- KCNA, Rodong Sinmun, Korean Central Television — graded S (state media) on WARNPOINT
- Sanctions
- UN Security Council, US, EU, Japan and South Korea — near-total trade and financial isolation
Specialist sources
- NK News — Seoul-based news site covering only North KoreaNorth Korea says navy to deploy new ‘high-speed torpedo’ in early 2027 · 6h ago
- 38 North — Stimson Center analysis, incl. satellite imagery of nuclear and missile sitesnothing on this beat in the last 30 days
- Yonhap — South Korea’s national news agency — usually first with South Korean military statements(LEAD) N. Korea tests new torpedo, eyes early 2027 deployment · 3h ago
- Korea Herald — South Korean English-language dailyN. Korea's Kim stresses importance of agriculture, vows to improve rural life · 4h ago
- Korea Times — South Korean English-language dailynothing on this beat in the last 30 days
- Daily NK — reporting from sources inside North Koreanothing on this beat in the last 30 days
- Radio Free Asia — US-funded broadcaster with a Korean serviceA trip to the South Korean seaside for glimpses of my North Korean hometown · 3h ago
Travel advice
✦Sanctions
✦UN arms embargo; near-total trade and financial isolation.
Questions people ask
Is North Korea testing missiles right now?
WARNPOINT’s most recent logged weapons test is torpedo / underwater weapon on Nov 9, 2026 (“North Korea tests new ‘high-speed’ torpedo system”, reported by 7 outlets). 1 logged in the last 30 days. The log updates every 15 minutes from 310+ news sources.
How dangerous is North Korea right now?
North Korea is rated Watch on WARNPOINT’s open-source instability index, at 22/100. The score measures located violence and crisis reporting inside the country — not how often it is in the news.
Is it safe to travel to North Korea?
Government travel advice: U.S. State Department — Level 4 (Do not travel); UK FCDO — Level 3 (Reconsider travel); Global Affairs Canada — Level 4 (Do not travel); German Foreign Office — Level 1 (Normal precautions). US passports are not valid for travel to North Korea without a special validation from the State Department.
How many nuclear tests has North Korea carried out?
Six, all at the Punggye-ri test site: October 2006, May 2009, February 2013, January 2016, September 2016 and September 3, 2017 — the largest, which North Korea said was a hydrogen bomb.
Has North Korea attacked South Korea?
Yes. The deadliest recent attacks were in 2010: the sinking of the South Korean navy ship Cheonan (46 sailors killed; North Korea denies it) and the shelling of Yeonpyeong Island (two marines and two civilians killed). Since 2024 North Korea calls the South a separate, hostile state and has blown up the road and rail links across the border.
What ICBMs does North Korea have?
Five types have flown: the Hwasong-14 and Hwasong-15 (2017), the Hwasong-17 (2022), and the solid-fuel Hwasong-18 (2023) and Hwasong-19 (2024). The Hwasong-15, -17, -18 and -19 are estimated to be able to reach the whole United States.
Where does this information come from?
From 310+ news outlets WARNPOINT reads around the clock — including NK News, 38 North, Yonhap, Korea Herald and international wires — each graded for reliability. North Korean state media (KCNA, Rodong Sinmun) is graded S and labelled. Nothing on this page is AI-written.