North Korean missiles bolster Russia's offensive in Ukraine
Andrii Cherniak, a representative of Ukrainian military intelligence (HUR), revealed in an interview with Radio Liberty that Russia has already used approximately 60 North Korean KN-23 ballistic missiles for attacks on Ukraine. Pyongyang also systematically supplies its ally with vast quantities of artillery shells and, more recently, heavy military equipment.
9:08 AM EST, December 4, 2024
–Today we have information that Russia has used about 60 North Korean missiles against Ukraine. Their accuracy, in principle, is not very high. We understand that the technologies used to make them are outdated. On the other hand, they still pose a danger, because there is no difference between dying from a missile made in 24 years ago or dying from a missile made using old technologies – said Andrii Cherniak.
KN-23 ballistic missiles in service of Russians
KN-23 (also known as Hwasong-11Ga) are solid-fuel ballistic missiles that are sometimes compared to Russian Iskanders.
North Korean designs are somewhat lighter but offer a greater range—estimated to be over 370 miles. The warheads used in the KN-23 can weigh about 1,100 pounds. Variants with conventional warheads reach Russia, but the KN-23 can also be armed with nuclear warheads.
Andrii Cherniak reminded us that from the beginning of the war in Ukraine, North Korean artillery ammunition has been a significant support for Putin's army.
– We constantly see the movement of cargo and containers. We do not rule out that there may be artillery ammunition that North Korea produces, which is already in its warehouses. Yes, this is also a huge danger for Ukraine, because in addition to the fact that Russia has its own military-industrial complex, it has its own facilities, it also uses the ammunition that comes from North Korea – the Ukrainian stated.
Growing support for Russia from North Korea
Also, in a recently issued assessment by the intelligence services of the USA and South Korea, information was provided about significant support flowing from Pyongyang to Moscow. It was estimated that there might already be 20,000 containers with several million artillery shells.
In the last quarter of 2024, Putin's army also began receiving North Korean heavy military equipment. It is noted that there are already over 100 various types of artillery systems, including multiple rocket launchers and M1989 "Koksan" artillery using 6.7-inch caliber guns.
