North Korea supplies missiles to Russia despite sanctions

According to the latest intelligence, Russia has received new supplies of Hwasong-11 short-range ballistic missiles, reports "The New York Times." Thus, Pyongyang and Moscow have found a way to circumvent imposed sanctions.

The remnants of four missiles, called Hwasong-11, were examined in Kyiv by investigators from Conflict Armament Research, an independent research group based in the United Kingdom that identifies and tracks weapons and ammunition used in wars worldwide, the American newspaper reported.

The remnants handed over by Ukraine were secured on August 18, after an attack on Kyiv. One of the missiles was identified by serial numbers, indicating that it was produced in 2024.

The Hwasong-11 missile has a range of about 310 miles and can be equipped with nuclear or conventional warheads. The American military indicates that the missile visually resembles the Russian Iskander, suggesting it was modeled after it. According to the US Army, Pyongyang was able to build the missile only by using Western components.

"Determining the year of production, looking at these remnants, shows a very narrow window of time between production, transfer, and use," said Damien Spleeters of Conflict Armament Research in an interview with "The New York Times." "I think it's quite significant because we are talking about North Korea, a country that has been under sanctions for almost two decades," he emphasized.

"It also shows that sanctions are continuously being violated, as they keep producing these missiles, transferring them, and then they are used to attack Ukraine," he said.