Why North Korea’s stunning arms exhibition may not be all its cracked up to be



Analysis Why North Korea’s stunning arms exhibition may not be all its cracked up to be 2025 defense expo showcases rapid technological development, but many weapons remain untested, and many more unshown Joost Oliemans October 8, 2025 SHARE COPY LINK FACEBOOK X LINKEDIN MASTODON Image: KCNA, edited by NK Pro For the fourth time in five years, North Korea has opened a major defense expo showcasing the country’s latest weapons innovations, offering a cornucopia of details about the accelerating rate of military developments. The “Military Hardware Exhibition Defence Development-2025” follows similar events in 2021, 2023 and 2024, and their frequency is largely in lockstep with the much older tradition of military parades, with another parade expected to mark the 80th anniversary of the Workers' Party of Korea later this week. The sheer volume of weapons systems on display this year is striking, even when limiting analysis to Read More © Korea Risk Group. All rights reserved. No part of this content may be reproduced, distributed, or used for commercial purposes without prior written permission from Korea Risk Group. LATEST ANALYSIS 01How the DMZ blasts unfolded, from mine laying to North Korean denials 02North Korean TV airs outdated map laying claim to South Korean border islands 03How North Korea’s newest ‘hypersonic’ missile could foil adversary defenses 04Crossing the Yalu: Why China and North Korea want to open long-stalled bridge 05A decade apart, two DMZ mine blasts highlight a new inter-Korean reality 06Chinese authorities seize smuggled goods bound for North Korea: records 07Likely Russian ship docks in North Korea’s Rason port for first time since May 08Trump doesn’t need a grand deal with Kim, but rather small coordinated actions

Analysis

Why North Korea’s stunning arms exhibition may not be all its cracked up to be

2025 defense expo showcases rapid technological development, but many weapons remain untested, and many more unshown

Joost Oliemans October 8, 2025

Why North Korea’s stunning arms exhibition may not be all its cracked up to be

Image: KCNA, edited by NK Pro

For the fourth time in five years, North Korea has opened a major defense expo showcasing the country’s latest weapons innovations, offering a cornucopia of details about the accelerating rate of military developments.

The “Military Hardware Exhibition Defence Development-2025” follows similar events in 2021, 2023 and 2024, and their frequency is largely in lockstep with the much older tradition of military parades, with another parade expected to mark the 80th anniversary of the Workers' Party of Korea later this week.

The sheer volume of weapons systems on display this year is striking, even when limiting analysis to

01How the DMZ blasts unfolded, from mine laying to North Korean denials
02North Korean TV airs outdated map laying claim to South Korean border islands
03How North Korea’s newest ‘hypersonic’ missile could foil adversary defenses
04Crossing the Yalu: Why China and North Korea want to open long-stalled bridge
05A decade apart, two DMZ mine blasts highlight a new inter-Korean reality
06Chinese authorities seize smuggled goods bound for North Korea: records
07Likely Russian ship docks in North Korea’s Rason port for first time since May
08Trump doesn’t need a grand deal with Kim, but rather small coordinated actions

Why North Korea’s stunning arms exhibition may not be all its cracked up to be

LATEST ANALYSIS

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Joost Oliemans