North Korea has sharply reduced its missile testing this year as leader Kim Jong Un pivots toward solidifying his nation's status as a nuclear power, signaling a new phase of confidence for the isolated regime, The Wall Street Journal reports.

The 41-year-old ruler has overseen roughly a dozen public weapons tests in 2025, far fewer than the 20 to 30 launches North Korea typically conducts annually, according to South Korean defense officials.

The slowdown follows years of record activity, including a 2022 barrage that saw more than 40 launches in a single year and 23 missiles fired in one day.

Pyongyang said Thursday that it successfully tested two short-range hypersonic missiles the day before, its first launch since August.

State media published photos showing the projectiles hitting inland targets. Hypersonic missiles, which travel at least five times the speed of sound, can maneuver mid-flight and are designed to evade interception — a capability that has become a growing concern for U.S. and allied missile defense systems.

According to the Journal, Kim's latest moves reflect a transition away from using missile tests as the main show of force. Instead, North Korea is focusing on developing and mass-producing advanced weapons, from solid-fuel intercontinental ballistic missiles to tactical nuclear warheads and reconnaissance satellites.

The strategy aligns with the final stages of Kim's five-year weapons plan, announced in 2021.

"The qualitative aspect of testing has become more important than the sheer number of launches," said Hong Min, a senior researcher at the Korea Institute for National Unification in Seoul.

"Kim has achieved many of his military goals and now seeks to display stability and confidence."

North Korea's reduced testing coincides with deepening ties with Russia and China. Analysts say Pyongyang has supplied artillery and short-range ballistic missiles to Moscow for use in Ukraine in exchange for oil, food, and potential technical assistance.

Russian cooperation, they say, may be helping North Korea improve missile guidance systems and solid-fuel propulsion technology.

"North Korea is readying itself for its next list of weapons goals," said Jeon Kyung-joo, a research fellow at the Korea Institute for Defense Analyses.

"With Russian support and steady oil supplies, its weapons factories are running at higher capacity."

The shift underscores a broader geopolitical realignment in northeast Asia, as Pyongyang positions itself alongside Moscow and Beijing against Washington and its allies.

Kim has declared North Korea a nuclear-armed state and signaled that future military efforts will focus on upgrading conventional forces.

U.S. officials have warned that North Korea's growing cooperation with Russia could accelerate its weapons advances while undermining international sanctions.

A recent Congressional Research Service report noted that Pyongyang views its nuclear arsenal as "a guarantor of regime survival," leaving little incentive to return to denuclearization talks.

Despite its technological progress, many of North Korea's claimed breakthroughs remain unverified, and experts report that much of its arsenal may not yet be deployable.

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