Short-range ballistic missilecombat-provenpartial data
KN-23 / Hwasong-11
Hwasong-11A, Hwasong-11Ga, KN-23
North Korean road-mobile short-range ballistic missile with a flattened, manoeuvring flight path, supplied to Russia and fired at Ukrainian cities.
No public price No sourced unit price found.
| Maker | February 11 Plant (Hamhung), per James Martin Center researchers |
|---|---|
| Origin | North Korea |
| Built | North Korea (Hamhung) |
| First combat | December 2023, fired by Russia at Ukraine; first debris-documented strike on Kharkiv, 2 January 2024 |
| Length | 7.5 m |
| Diameter | 0.95 m |
| Launch weight | 3,415 kg |
| Warhead | 500 kg |
| Max range | 800 km |
| Propulsion | Single-stage solid propellant |
| Guidance | Inertial, with satellite navigation updates suspected but not confirmed |
| Launcher | Road-mobile wheeled transporter-erector-launcher |
Range is the maximum demonstrated range per 38 North (2026); CSIS lists 690 km from 2019 tests and estimates a 500 kg warhead to 450 km, with a lighter payload going further. Russia began firing KN-23s in December 2023; Ukrainian officials said about half of early launches failed in flight and accuracy was 500 to 3,000 m, improving to 50 to 100 m from early 2025, which Ukraine's intelligence chief credits to Russian help (belligerent claims). About 250 KN-23 and KN-24 missiles had reportedly been transferred to Russia by September 2025, and Conflict Armament Research found over 75% of documented components in the Kharkiv missile came from US suppliers. Dimensions are analyst estimates cited by CSIS.
Sources (12)
- CSIS Missile Threat: KN-23 (last modified Apr 2024) (length_m)
- CSIS Missile Threat: KN-23 (last modified Apr 2024) (diameter_m)
- CSIS Missile Threat: KN-23 (last modified Apr 2024) (launch_weight_kg)
- CSIS Missile Threat: KN-23 (last modified Apr 2024) (warhead_kg)
- CSIS Missile Threat: KN-23 (last modified Apr 2024) (propulsion)
- CSIS Missile Threat: KN-23 (last modified Apr 2024) (launcher)
- 38 North: The KN-23 Goes to War: Has It Improved North Korea's Missiles? (Aug 2026; read via web.archive.org snapshot) (range_km)
- 38 North: The KN-23 Goes to War: Has It Improved North Korea's Missiles? (Aug 2026; read via web.archive.org snapshot) (guidance)
- 38 North: The KN-23 Goes to War: Has It Improved North Korea's Missiles? (Aug 2026; read via web.archive.org snapshot) (first_combat)
- NK News: North Korea used US parts in ballistic missile Russia fired at Ukraine (Feb 2024, citing Conflict Armament Research) (first_combat)
- CNN: North Korea expands weapons plant that makes missiles used by Russia (Nov 2024) (maker)
- Kyiv Independent: Russia significantly improved North Korea's KN-23, Budanov says (Jun 2025) (notes)
No freely licensed photograph found. The drawing above is the reference.
