This photo shows North Korean weapons found in Ukraine, provided by National Intelligence Service, Oct. 18. Yonhap
North Korea has supplied more than 100 KN-23 and KN-24 ballistic missiles, and dispatched military specialists to Russia in support of its war with Ukraine, a Ukrainian defense intelligence unit has said.
The alleged provision is another sign of North Korea and Russia’s deepening military cooperation that has also involved the deployment of more than 10,000 North Korean troops to Russia.
“The aggressor state of Russia has received more than 100 such missiles from the DPRK. The enemy first used these weapons in the war against Ukraine at the end of 2023,” the Defence Intelligence of Ukraine said in a report, referring to the North by its formal name, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.
“Along with the missiles, Pyongyang then sent its military specialists to Russia to service the launchers and participate in war crimes against Ukraine,” the institution said.
The KN-23 and KN-24 are North Korean short-range ballistic missiles capable of carrying nuclear warheads, known as Hwasong-11 variants.
The intelligence unit said the missiles, which have caused multiple civilian casualties, were found to have included components made by foreign companies, including those from Britain, China, Japan, Switzerland and the United States.
At least one of the missiles included a voltage converter produced in February last year and labeled by the British firm XP Power, it said, calling for tighter measures against the export of such components.
South Korea’s spy agency briefed lawmakers earlier that the North exported long-range artillery to Russia, including 170-millimeter self-propelled howitzers and 240 mm multiple rocket launchers. This assessment raised speculation that the North could send an additional artillery unit to Russia. (Yonhap)
