Category World News

North Korea unveiled its latest and “most powerful” intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) at a military parade presided over by the country’s leader Kim Jong Un, the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reports.

The parade on Friday in the capital Pyongyang featured some of North Korea’s most advanced weapons, including long-range strategic cruise missiles and drone launch vehicles, but special prominence was given to the Hwasong-20 ICBM, which KCNA described as the military’s “most powerful nuclear strategic weapon system”.

Mounted on an 11-axle launcher truck for its debut at the parade on Friday, the very existence of the massive Hwasong-20 was only revealed in recent weeks as North Korea tested a new solid-fuel rocket engine that it said was intended for a future generation of ICBMs.

State media said the engine, built with carbon fibre, is capable of producing 1,971 kilonewtons of thrust – a measure of propulsive force which is more powerful than earlier North Korean rocket engines.

“The Hwasong-20 represents, for the moment, the apotheosis of North Korea’s ambitions for long-range nuclear delivery capabilities. We should expect to see the system tested before the end of this year,” said Ankit Panda of the US-based Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.

The Hwasong series of ICBMs has given North Korea the capacity to strike long-range targets, but questions remain over the sophistication of its guidance system and the ability of the missile’s warhead payload to withstand atmospheric re-entry.

Experts believe the Hwasong-20 could be designed to carry multiple nuclear warheads, a capability that Kim has called on his military to develop in order to give his arsenal of missiles a better chance at penetrating enemy defences.

“The system is likely designed for the delivery of multiple warheads,” Panda said.

“Multiple warheads will increase stresses on existing US missile defence systems and augment what Kim sees as necessary to achieve meaningful deterrence effects against Washington,” he said.

Following the parade marking the 80th anniversary of the foundation of North Korea’s ruling Workers’ Party, Kim delivered a speech in which he called North Korea a “faithful member of socialist forces” and “a bulwark for independence” against the threat of the West’s global hegemony, according to KCNA.

“Today, we stand before the world as a mighty people with no obstacles we cannot overcome and no great achievement we cannot accomplish,” Kim said.

Among foreign dignitaries in Pyongyang to attend the event was Dmitry Medvedev, deputy head of Russia’s Security Council and a key ally of President Vladimir Putin.

Meeting with Kim, Medvedev expressed gratitude for North Korea’s support for the Russian military campaign in Ukraine, Russian state news agencies reported on Friday.

“The nature of relations between people and between countries is revealed during times of trial,” Medvedev said on the Russian social media platform Max.

“This fully applies to the alliance between our countries”, he said.

“We are grateful to the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea for its steadfast support of the special military operation. Our soldiers stood shoulder to shoulder to liberate the Kursk region. This feat will forever remain in our hearts,” he added.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has presided over a major military parade featuring the nation’s latest intercontinental ballistic missile as international dignitaries looked on, state media KCNA reported.

The Friday night parade commemorated the 80th anniversary of the Workers’ Party of Korea’s founding, following Thursday’s celebrations. Among the foreign guests in Pyongyang were Chinese Premier Li Qiang, former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and Vietnam’s Communist Party leader To Lam.

During the parade, North Korea showcased its advanced Hwasong-20 intercontinental ballistic missile, which KCNA characterised as the nation’s “strongest nuclear strategic weapon system”.

While the Hwasong ICBM series provides North Korea with the theoretical capability to strike anywhere in the United States, experts remain uncertain about its guidance precision and whether its warhead could survive atmospheric re-entry.

“The Hwasong-20 represents, for the moment, the apotheosis of North Korea’s ambitions for long-range nuclear delivery capabilities. We should expect to see the system tested before the end of this year,” said Ankit Panda of the US-based Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.

“The system is likely designed for the delivery of multiple warheads … Multiple warheads will increase stresses on existing US missile defence systems and augment what Kim sees as necessary to achieve meaningful deterrence effects against Washington.”

In his address during the parade, Kim offered “warm encouragement” to North Korean troops serving abroad, notably in Russia’s Ukraine war, noting their heroism would extend beyond national defence to “outposts of socialist construction,” according to KCNA.

“Our army should continue to grow into an invincible entity that destroys all threats,” Kim declared.

Denmark plans to spend roughly 27.4 billion Danish kroner ($4.26bn) in an effort to shore up its defence capabilities in the Arctic and stave off threats made by United States President Donald Trump against the Danish semi-autonomous Greenland.

The massive cash injection in defence will cover the purchase of two additional Arctic vessels, a new Arctic command headquarters, a North Atlantic undersea cable and maritime patrol aircraft, the Danish Ministry of Defence said Friday.

Denmark’s military also plans to acquire 16 additional F-35 advance fighter jets, bringing its total fleet to 43 in a move that Chief of Defence Michael Hyldgaard called an “assertion of sovereignty”.

The new jets, he added, will “significantly” boost “the combat power, flexibility and Danish contribution to NATO”.

Denmark has embarked on a fast-moving campaign to build up its defence capabilities in response to both Russia’s war on Ukraine and Trump’s repeated assertions that he wants to acquire – one way or another – Greenland, which was subject to Danish rule for nearly three centuries.

Last month, Denmark made its largest-ever arms purchase of European-made air defence systems worth 58 billion Danish kroner ($9.2bn), and separately announced a “paradigm shift” to acquire – for the first time – long-range missiles in an effort to deter Russia.

Although Trump has not recently returned to his repeated demand earlier this year to “buy” Greenland, Denmark has not forgotten Trump’s threats.

Earlier this week, news outlet Politico reported that Danish President Mette Frederiksen told parliamentarians that while “there is perhaps a feeling that we can breathe a sigh of relief … it is my belief that we cannot”.

The White House has previously defended Trump’s position, saying the president sees Greenland as “a strategically important location, and is confident Greenlanders would be better served if protected by the United States from modern threats in the Arctic region”.

But Greenlandic leaders have roundly rejected the idea, with Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen telling the European Parliament on Wednesday that the territory faces a “pivotal moment” amid geopolitical rivalries.

“Greenland needs the European Union, and the European Union needs Greenland,” he said.

Scramble for the Arctic

The Arctic’s potential opportunities for strategic trade, energy exploration and exploitation of rare earth minerals – which are expected to increase as climate change melts vast swaths of ice – have made the region the unlikely centre of Russia-China-US rivalry.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has built up Russia’s military capabilities in the Arctic in what analysts say is partially an effort to develop the Northern Sea Route, the shortest shipping pathway between Europe and the Asia Pacific region.

Putin’s ambitions have stirred controversy in part because the route covers areas “expected to become increasingly navigable” thanks to climate change and extend far beyond Russia’s current territorial waters, the Atlantic Council has reported.

China has also emerged as Russia’s partner on several Arctic infrastructure projects while pursuing its own interests, including deploying vessels to collect vast amounts of data in pursuit of new shipping routes and natural resources.

In a report last year, the US Department of Defense cautioned that China and Russia “are collaborating in the Arctic across multiple instruments of national power” and warned “their growing alignment in the region is of concern” – a characterisation the duo both denounced.

Putin has also said he is open to Western partnership in the Arctic.

Israelis held in Gaza by Hamas and other armed groups are slated to “come back” on Monday, United States President Donald Trump said, with 20 living captives and the bodies of 28 others who died in captivity due to be handed over as part of the US-backed ceasefire deal.

Speaking to reporters at the White House late on Friday, Trump said Monday will be “big” as Hamas exchanges all 48 Israeli captives, both living and deceased, for roughly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails.

“Some of those bodies are being unearthed right now, as we speak. They’re working on it right now,” Trump said.

“It’s a tragedy. It’s a tragedy,” he said.

Of the living captives still held in Gaza, the US president added, “they’re in some pretty rough places, where only some people know where they are”.

Trump said he plans to travel to Cairo this weekend and separately speak at the Israeli Knesset before returning to the US.

Under the terms of the US-brokered peace deal for Gaza, Hamas agreed to release all captives within 72 hours following the start of a ceasefire.

Israel’s government ratified the ceasefire in the early hours of Friday, and it came into force later in the day. Israeli troops then began to withdraw from areas in Gaza to designated locations, and the countdown began on the 72 hours for Hamas to release captives.

Reports surfaced earlier this week that Hamas may struggle to locate and gather the remains of all the deceased captives, potentially complicating the planned exchange on Monday.

As Palestinians began to return to their war-torn homes on Friday amid the Israeli pullback, key questions about Gaza’s future remain uncertain – including plans for a future Palestinian state.

Trump, however, maintained an optimistic tone about both the first and later phases of his unfolding ceasefire plan.

Both Hamas and Israel, he said, are “all tired of fighting”.

“There is consensus on most of it and some of the details, like anything else, will be worked out,” Trump said.

“Because, you’ll find out that when you’re sitting in a beautiful room in Egypt, you know, it’s easy to work something out,” he said.

“But then sometimes it doesn’t work from a practical standpoint. But for the most part, there’s consensus,” he added.

The US president also appeared to be pleased with support for the deal from the European Union, Iran and Russia, saying that the peace plan will extend “beyond Gaza”.

Here is how things stand on Saturday, October 11, 2025:

Fighting

• More than 450 Russian drones and 30 missiles targeted Ukrainian energy infrastructure through the early hours of Friday morning in what Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called a “cynical and calculated attack” that injured at least 20 people nationwide.
• Throughout Friday, repair crews raced to restore power to more than 725,000 families in Kyiv and other cities amid widespread outages.
• In a video message discussing the attacks, Zelenskyy said Russian President Vladimir Putin was “clearly taking advantage of the moment” as world leaders focus on implementing a ceasefire agreement in Gaza.
• Zelenskyy separately told reporters that Russia deliberately waited for bad weather before launching its assault, with inclement conditions reducing the efficiency of Ukraine’s air defences by 20 to 30 percent.
• Russian forces killed three foreign soldiers fighting on behalf of Ukraine near Otradnoye, a village in northeastern Ukraine, where Russian troops claimed to have taken control earlier this week, Russia’s state TASS news agency reported.
• Ukraine’s military said it struck Russia more than 70 times last month, decreasing oil refining in the country by more than 21 percent.

Peace process

• The “E3” leaders of Germany, France and the United Kingdom condemned Russia’s “escalatory” attacks against Ukraine’s national infrastructure, promising to increase pressure on Russia as Putin “continues his stalling tactics and abhorrent attacks in response to peace talks”.
• The leaders added they were “ready to progress towards using, in a coordinated way, the value of the immobilised Russian sovereign assets to support Ukraine’s armed forces” in order to pressure Russia to negotiate.
• During a three-day visit to Tajikistan, Russia’s Putin told reporters he remained “committed to the discussion that took place in Anchorage”, referring to his Alaska summit with United States President Donald Trump in August.
• Putin’s comments were a sharp reversal from those of Russia’s Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov earlier this week, who said that “powerful momentum” for peace talks has been lost since August.
• US First Lady Melania Trump said she and Putin are discussing the repatriation of children caught up in the war, with some already returned to their families and more expected to be reunited soon.

Politics and diplomacy

• Zelenskyy said he had spoken with several leaders in light of Russia’s overnight strikes – British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, Finnish President Alexander Stubb and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz  – and thanked all three for their support.
• Dmitry Medvedev, former Russian president and current deputy chairman of the Russian Security Council, visited North Korea for the 80th anniversary of the founding of the ruling Workers’ Party of Korea. Russia and North Korea signed a mutual defence treaty last year, and Pyongyang has sent thousands of troops and vast quantities of weapons to support Moscow’s war against Kyiv.
• Putin told reporters that Trump “does a lot for peace” and praised the Gaza ceasefire deal.
• Trump quickly reposted a clip of Putin’s comments about his peace efforts to Truth Social with a note of thanks to the Russian leader.

Regional security

• Ukraine and the Netherlands signed a memorandum of understanding for the co-production of drones. Amsterdam has provided almost $9bn in support to Ukraine throughout the war, according to Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry.
• European Union’s foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said the EU must seek a “common European vision for defence”, and that Russia must be prevented from winning its war against Ukraine.
• Putin said that Russia is developing new weapons of deterrence, and noted that it’s “not a big deal” for Moscow if the US declines to extend the warhead limits set out in a nuclear arms treaty that expires next year.