On November 29, 2017, Michael Elleman wrote for 38 North that at 13,000 km, the payload would be around 150 kilograms , based on flight data of the test and conjectured it was a reconfigured Hwasong-14 and on November 30, after release of the images and video of launch, he wrote a subsequent article on 38th North in which he stated that he first visualized the design of the missile based solely on flight data.