[9] Based on its trajectory and distance, the missile would have a range of more than 13,000 km (8,100 mi) – more than enough to reach Washington D.C. and the rest of the United States, albeit, according to the Union of Concerned Scientists, probably with a reduced payload.

[3][10] Several important US allies, including the United Kingdom, France and Australia, also lie within the missile's theoretical range, which covers most of Earth's land masses except South America, the Caribbean, and the majority of Antarctica.

Based on the limited information available, the Union of Concerned Scientists did conclude that equipping the missile with a normal-sized payload would likely reduce the overall range.

[20] On 29 November 2017, Michael Elleman wrote for 38 North that at 13,000 km (8,100 mi), the payload would be around 150 kg (330 lb), based on flight data of the test and conjectured it was a reconfigured Hwasong-14.

[21] On 30 November, after the publication of the images and video of the launch, he wrote a subsequent article on 38 North in which he stated that he first visualized the design of the missile based solely on flight data.

[29] According to a statement by Japanese Minister of Defence Itsunori Onodera, the missile's re-entry vehicle failed to successfully re-enter the Earth's atmosphere, breaking apart and crashing into waters within Japan's exclusive economic zone.

[30] Later assessments from the Union of Concerned Scientists, however, raised questions as to whether the object Onodera described may have been the missile's detached first stage, not its re-entry vehicle.