KN-18

The KN-18 is the designation given by the United States government to a North Korean short-range ballistic missile, whose official designation is unknown. The missile was first tested on 29 May 2017.

Description

The KN-18 is a variant of Hwasong-6 with terminal maneuverability. Initially, the KN-18 was assessed as an anti-ship ballistic missile, but it is incorrect. Other sources claim the KN-18 to be a variant of Hwasong-5. Based from images, the missile's estimated length is judged to be about.
The missile utilizes a liquid-fueled Scud booster and is equipped with a separable warhead, which has several additional "fins" to make it maneuverable. After engine burnout, the KN-18's warhead adjusts its trajectory to precisely strike the target. The missile's circular error probable is, according to North Korean state media. The KN-18 has a range of, based on information released after the first and only test-fire. The KN-18's launcher is a tracked chassis. Along with the maneuverable reentry vehicle, the KN-18 appears to be possibly nuclear-capable.

History

The KN-18 was first displayed during a military parade on 15 April 2017 commemorating the 105th birthday of the late North Korean leader Kim Il Sung. Initially, the missile was designated by the United States as KN-17, but this designation was later used for Hwasong-12, an intermediate-range ballistic missile that had a successful test flight on 14 May 2017.
The KN-18's maiden test-flight occurred on 29 May 2017. After the test-fire, United States designated the missile as KN-18.
North Korea has never disclosed KN-18's official designation. It is not known whether the KN-18 is in production, and it is also possible that the KN-18 is superseded by newer solid-fueled SRBMs.

List of tests

There has been one known test so far:

Attempt	Date	Location	Outcome	Additional notes	References
1	29 May 2017 05:40 a.m.	Kalma Airport, Wonsan		The missile was tracked by the United States Pacific Command for six minutes, achieved range and apogee. The launch was supervised by Kim Jong Un.