Russian forces have deployed approximately 60 North Korean ballistic missiles during the full-scale invasion, with low accuracy but significant potential for damage, according to Ukrainian military intelligence.
North Korea and Russia have intensified cooperation following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, signing an agreement that obligates each party to provide immediate military assistance to the other in case of armed aggression. The United States intelligence indicated that North Korea is preparing additional weapons shipments to Russia for use in its war against Ukraine.
Andrii Cherniak from the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine told Radio Liberty that these missiles, while technologically outdated, still pose a serious threat to Ukraine.
“Their accuracy is, in principle, not very high. We understand that the technologies used in their production are obsolete,” Cherniak said. Despite their technological limitations, he emphasized the missiles remain a substantial danger.
Kharkiv Regional Prosecutor Oleksandr Filchakov said in March that Russia had launched around 50 North Korean missiles against Ukraine. One officially confirmed case involved a Hwasong-11 (KN-23/24) missile strike in the Kharkiv Oblast.
Bloomberg, citing South Korean intelligence data, reported in October that since August 2023, North Korea has supplied Russia with significant military resources: approximately eight million 122mm and 152mm artillery shells, around 100 Hwasong-11 missiles, and Bulsae-4 anti-tank weapons. The publication said that this volume substantially exceeds previous European intelligence estimates.
The KN-23 – western intelligence’s designation for this tactical ballistic missile – is officially known as Hwasong-11Ga. It is a North Korean replica of the Russian Iskander missile system.
Read also:
- Zelenskyy confirms first North Korean soldier deaths in Russia
- Ukraine destroys North Korean Bulsae-4 missile system in Kharkiv Oblast
- US: North Korea to transfer new batches of ballistic missiles and heavy equipment to Russia
