Russia launches North Korean-made ballistic missiles in Ukraine. International researchers confirm

Ukrainians have reported this new development concerning the use of such missiles by Russia. "Concerning North Korea, we received incontrovertible evidence a few days ago that the Russian army is using missiles produced in this country," said Prosecutor General Andriy Kostin to the Suspilne portal.

Conflict Armament Research, an international research organization, has issued a detailed report analyzing the debris of a ballistic missile used by Russia to strike Kharkiv on January 2, 2024. The examination of the remains enabled the identification of the missile's North Korean origin. The report suggested that the missile that hit Kharkiv was likely of the models KN-23 or KN-24.

Both the KN-23 and KN-24 are categorized as short-range solid fuel ballistic missiles, meaning they have the capacity to attack targets several hundred kilometers, or roughly a few hundred miles, away.

For the KN-23 model, its range is predicted to extend to 690 km (approximately 429 miles). The KN-23 missile has a length of 7.5 m (around 25 feet), a diameter of 0.95 m (around 3 feet), and has a mass of 3415 kg (approximately 3769 lbs), with the warhead weighing around 500 kg (approximately 1102 lbs). The dimensions of the KN-24 model are slightly smaller, and its range is shorter, but the mass of its warhead closely matches that of the KN-23.

Some labels preserved on the fragments, along with the discovery that this was a missile with its engine positioned at the front, suggest that either a KN-23 or KN-24 model was used. This key observation aligns with official photographs published by the Kim Jong Un regime during one of his visits to the arms factories.