Story perspectives

North Korea Opens Defence Revolution Museum With Hwasong-20

By Drooid · Oct 13, 2026, 11:14 PM UTC · How we work

Summary

Kim Opens Museum

Kim Jong Un opened the Defence Revolution Museum in Pyongyang, displaying the Hwasong-20 ICBM.
The museum also showed drones, a new submarine-launched ballistic missile, and five ICBM types.
President Donald Trump said he might meet Kim during his mid-November APEC trip to China.
Shin Jong-woo said the exhibit is propaganda ahead of a possible summit.
North Korea test-fired a tactical ballistic missile on Oct 12.

Summary

Japan Files Protest

South Korea’s National Security Office held an emergency meeting to assess North Korea missile launches and readiness.
Japan’s Deputy Defense Minister Takashi Koyari filed a formal protest through Beijing embassies over the launches.
Seoul cited UN Security Council resolutions that bar North Korea ballistic missile tests as violated.
Professor Song Seong-jong warned Pyongyang seeks leverage before a possible summit with U.S. President Donald Trump.

History

Historical Context

In 1998, North Korea launched the Taepodong-1 missile from the Musudan-ri launch site, prompting the United Nations Security Council to adopt Resolution 1136. The resolution imposed $1 billion in sanctions on Pyongyang’s aerospace industry, targeting the Korean Committee of Space Technology and the Korean People’s Army. Today, Kim Jong Un’s Defence Revolution Museum displays the Hwasong-20 ICBM as President Donald Trump’s APEC trip rekindles summit talks first sparked by the 1998 launch. Consequently, each launch compels South Korea’s National Security Office and Japan’s Defense Ministry to hold emergency meetings, perpetuating a deterrence cycle and diplomatic pressure.

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Kim Opens Museum

Kim Jong Un opened the Defence Revolution Museum in Pyongyang, displaying the Hwasong-20 ICBM.
The museum also showed drones, a new submarine-launched ballistic missile, and five ICBM types.
President Donald Trump said he might meet Kim during his mid-November APEC trip to China.
Shin Jong-woo said the exhibit is propaganda ahead of a possible summit.
North Korea test-fired a tactical ballistic missile on Oct 12.

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