North Korea fires ballistic missile over 435 miles: What we know
Photo: Launch of a North Korean missile (Korean Central News Agency)
On August 12, North Korea launched a ballistic missile from the Wonsan area; it traveled about 700 km and fell into the waters east of the Korean Peninsula. This is Pyongyang's second launch in the past week, coming on the eve of the US-South Korea joint exercises, Ulchi Freedom Shield, according to Army Recognition.
Launch details and neighbors' reactions
South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) recorded the launch at around 6 a.m. local time. According to Japanese data, the missile reached a maximum altitude of about 90 km and traveled approximately 690 km, while South Korea estimated the flight range at over 700 km.
Tokyo reported that the missile fell outside Japan's exclusive economic zone, with no casualties or damage reported.
This launch marked the eleventh ballistic missile test by North Korea since the beginning of 2026 and took place just six days after the previous launch from the same area in Wonsan, which Pyongyang did not officially comment on. Seoul speculates that the previous test may not have been entirely successful, and that the new launch may have been intended to continue the testing program.
What kind of missile might this be?
A flight range of 700 km corresponds to the range typical of short-range ballistic missiles. One of North Korea's systems in this class is the Hwasong-11A, known in the West as the KN-23, which is often compared to Russia's Iskander-M due to its similar configuration.
This solid-fuel missile is launched from a mobile launcher and is estimated to have a range of 700 to 800 km, depending on the variant.
Yang Moo-jin, a professor at the University of North Korean Studies in Seoul, suggests that the new launch may have been related to the testing of a modified Hwasong-11 capable of carrying a tactical nuclear warhead. However, there is no official confirmation that it was specifically the KN-23 that was launched from Wonsan on August 12.
The new launch took place five days before the start of the 11-day Ulchi Freedom Shield exercises, which the US and South Korea will conduct from August 17 to 27. Pyongyang traditionally refers to such exercises as a rehearsal for war and has repeatedly responded to them with missile tests, while Washington and Seoul emphasize the defensive nature of the maneuvers.
Russia is increasingly using North Korean-made KN-23 missiles against Ukraine. In particular, on the night of August 11, 2026, the Russian forces launched a massive strike on Zaporizhzhia.
According to the Institute for the Study of War (ISW), Russia has recently changed its tactics for using North Korean missiles and, instead of massive barrages, is conducting isolated launches of KN-23s as part of nighttime strike packages alongside other types of weapons, allowing the Russians to conserve their scarce S-400 and Zircon systems.
