The Hwasong-11C is a larger North Korean Hwasong-11 family short-range ballistic missile associated in external reporting with the KN-23A and KN-23B labels. Open sources place it in the road-mobile, solid-fuel branch derived from the Hwasong-11A / KN-23, with North Korean reporting claiming a heavy 2.5-ton payload in 2021 and a later 4.5-ton-class warhead test series in 2024. Later analysis describes the Hwasong-11E hypersonic-glide-vehicle branch as using the larger Hwasong-11C booster and launcher base, but no source-backed direct combat use for this exact Hwasong-11C variant was found.
The larger Hwasong-11 branch uses overlapping North Korean and external names. This record keeps Hwasong-11C / Hwasongpho-11Da as the principal identity, while KN-23A and KN-23B remain aliases because public sources use those external labels inconsistently.
Hwasong-11C / Hwasongpho-11Da refers to the larger Hwasong-11A-derived missile branch reported from the 2021 parade and March 2021 flight test.
KN-23A and KN-23B are retained as search aliases for larger Hwasong-11C configurations rather than treated as separate public records.
Reviewed Ukraine-war sources document Hwasong-11-series, Hwasong-11A / KN-23, or Hwasong-11B / KN-24 use, but not direct combat use of this exact Hwasong-11C branch.
Open sources describe Hwasong-11C as the larger Hwasong-11A-derived branch. KN-23A and KN-23B are external labels rather than stable North Korean public names, so they are retained as aliases while the catalog title uses the Hwasong-11C family designation.
| Variant | Configuration | Designation notes |
|---|---|---|
 | Adjacent Hwasong-11A/B family page | The catalog's public KN-23 / KN-24 record covers the baseline Hwasong-11A and Hwasong-11B family, while this record isolates the larger Hwasong-11C branch associated with the KN-23A label. Sources: North Korean Short Range Systems, Missile Defense Project: KN-23 |
 | Smaller Hwasong-11 family branch | Hwasong-11D is treated as a separate smaller branch, while Hwasong-11C remains the larger heavy-warhead branch associated with the KN-23A and KN-23B external labels. Sources: North Korean Short Range Systems |
| Hwasong-11E | Hypersonic-glide-vehicle derivative | 38 North assessed the Hwasong-11E shown in 2025 as a new KN-23-family variant that apparently uses the booster and five-axle launcher of the larger Hwasong-11C branch. Sources: It Is Autumn in North Korea, and the Missiles Are Changing |
Hwasong-11C sits between the public KN-23 / KN-24 family page and later small Hwasong-11D coverage in the catalog. The relationship is useful for navigation, but it does not itself prove operational use.
| Catalog record | Relationship | Use in this entry |
|---|---|---|
| Baseline Hwasong-11A/B family record. | Provides the adjacent public family context for readers who searched the KN-23 name. |
| Smaller later Hwasong-11 family member. | Shows that the catalog treats narrow Hwasong-11 branches as separate records when evidence supports distinct public identities. |
Open Nuclear Network's parade viewbook and UN reporting identify a larger Hwasong-11A-derived short-range ballistic missile displayed during North Korea's January 2021 military parade.
Sources: DPRK Military Parade Viewbook 2022, United Nations Panel of Experts report S/2021/777
North Korea announced a new-type tactical guided projectile test and claimed a 600 km range with a heavy payload; outside analysts used the launch to assess the larger Hwasong-11C branch while cautioning against treating the payload claim as independently verified.
Sources: Academy of Defence Science Test-fires New-type Tactical Guided Projectile, Initial Analysis of North Korea's March 25 SRBM Launches, ONN Korean Peninsula Risk Assessment, March 2021
Open Nuclear Network's April 2022 parade analysis documented the larger missile branch in North Korean parade context and associated it with road-mobile launchers.
Sources: 25 April 2022 DPRK Parade
Reuters and Yonhap reported North Korea's claim that it tested a new tactical ballistic missile capable of carrying a simulated 4.5-ton-class warhead, while South Korean officials challenged aspects of the launch account.
Sources: North Korea says it tested ballistic missile capable of carrying super-large warhead, (2nd LD) N. Korea says it test-fired new tactical ballistic missile capable of carrying super-large warhead
KCNA and Sejong Institute reporting in September 2024 continued to frame the heavy-warhead missile as part of the Hwasong-11C / Hwasongpho-11Da branch, with Sejong distinguishing 2.5-ton and 4.5-ton naming.
Sources: DPRK Missile Administration and Academy of Defence Sciences Make Public Important Scientific Research Achievements, [Sejong Focus] Analysis of North Korea's Test Launch of Missile with 4.5-Ton Super-Large Warhead
38 North assessed the Hwasong-11E hypersonic-glide-vehicle variant as using the booster and five-axle launcher base of the larger Hwasong-11C branch, while cautioning that October 2025 launch evidence did not confirm an Hwasong-11E flight test.
Sources: It Is Autumn in North Korea, and the Missiles Are Changing
