North Korea missile parade signals Asia-Pacific trade, security shift

Pyongyang’s Missile Spectacle Signals Shifting Geopolitics

Mohd Hanif Ismail - : Oct 12, 2025 - : 7:27 pm

To read the full article, please log in or enter your email below:

North Korea staged a dramatic military parade in Pyongyang to mark the 80th anniversary of its ruling Workers’ Party, unveiling what the regime claims is its “most powerful” intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), the Hwasong-20, before a carefully selected audience of foreign dignitaries. The event is being interpreted not merely as domestic posturing, but as a signal: Pyongyang is drawing a firmer alignment with Moscow and Beijing, and seeking leverage in a region already in flux.

According to state media, the missile parade was attended by high-level representatives including Russia’s Dmitry Medvedev, China’s Premier Li Qiang, and Vietnam’s Communist Party leader To Lam. It was the first public showing of the solid-fuel Hwasong-20, mounted on an 11-axle launcher—a platform the regime describes as its “nuclear strategic weapon system.” The parade also emphasised other ballistic, cruise, and hypersonic missiles, together with advanced artillery and drone systems.

Observers note that this display is consistent with North Korea’s recent industrial push: earlier this year, Kim Jong Un inspected a new missile production line and automation facilities, suggesting a bolstered capacity to produce and deploy advanced weaponry. The parade must therefore be seen in the context of a nation under tight international sanctions yet still managing to expand military reach, apparently leveraging ties with large powers to cushion its isolation.

Strategically, Pyongyang’s choice to host Chinese and Russian dignitaries is a clear message: the regime is signaling that it is not isolated, and is hoping to solidify its standing as part of a new or evolving power bloc. Analysts caution that Seoul’s strengthened alliance with Washington may now be countered by a more assertive trilateral front conspicuously at its doorstep. As academic Seong-Hyon Lee has argued, this is not an isolated event but “the culmination of a deliberate structural shift in regional geopolitics.”

Indeed, in the backdrop lies North Korea’s ongoing involvement in Russia’s war in Ukraine: reports suggest thousands of North Korean troops are fighting in Russia’s ranks, and that Pyongyang has provided arms and logistical support. Some estimates place North Korean military casualties in Ukraine at several hundred dead and many more wounded. That involvement gives Moscow a tangible debt to Pyongyang—and, in turn, provides Pyongyang with diplomatic cover, even as it defies UN sanctions.

Trade-risk / North-korea / Hwasong-20 / Asia-pacific-security-2 / Missile-parade /

MORE NEWS