KN-25

The world's biggest guided rocket artillery — the KN-25 is North Korea's 600mm "super-large multiple rocket launcher," a deliberate hybrid that fires ballistic-missile-sized guided rockets to 380 kilometers on flat, defense-stressing trajectories. Pyongyang folds it into "nuclear counterattack" drills, claims a tactical nuclear warhead fits it, and has mass-produced more than 80 launchers. And unlike the KN-23 missiles and Koksan guns it ships to Russia, the KN-25 has never been confirmed leaving home — a negative finding that says as much about its role in North Korea's own war plan as any test.

Overview

The KN-25 — a US designation; DPRK state media only ever calls it the "600mm super-large multiple rocket launcher," and its domestic name is unknown — is the system where rocket artillery and ballistic missiles collapse into one category. Each rocket is about 8.2 meters long, roughly three tonnes at launch, guided by inertial and satellite navigation, and has demonstrated a 380 km range — deep enough to hold every airbase and port in South Korea at risk from anywhere in the North. US Forces Korea and Seoul accordingly classify it as a short-range ballistic missile; analysts at FRS describe "a guided artillery rocket with an unusually flat trajectory," built to fly under and saturate missile defenses. It fires from a family of tracked and wheeled launchers with four to six tubes each; 30 tracked TELs were handed to the army in a single ceremony in January 2023, 50 wheeled launchers in another in February 2026, and South Korea's Defense Intelligence Agency estimated more than 80 launchers built by March 2026. Pyongyang claims the Hwasan-31 tactical nuclear warhead fits the rocket and drills the units in simulated nuclear strikes. With roughly 90 rockets fired across 25 test events, it is North Korea's most-fired missile system — and, pointedly, one it appears to be keeping for itself: no transfer to Russia has ever been confirmed, in contrast to the KN-23 and the M1989 Koksan.

🔒 The full KN-25 file is for BattlePolicy Pro members. Below the line: development history, design and capabilities, variants, the combat record, advantages and limitations, comparable systems, outlook, the full specifications table, our sourcing, and the analyst assessment — procurement, suppliers and the BattlePolicy verdict. Unlock the full file with BattlePolicy Pro →