TAIPEI, Taiwan – North Korea has sent more than 100 KN-23 and KN-24 ballistic missiles to Russia, along with military specialists, to support its war with Ukraine, said a Ukrainian defense intelligence unit, about a week after South Korean confirmed that the North had exported additional artillery systems to Russia.
North Korea has been suspected of sending weapons to Russia to support its invasion of Ukraine. The South said last month that North Korea had sent about 7,000 containers of suspected weapons to Russia over the last two months, bringing the total number of containers to 20,000.
“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,” said the Defence Intelligence of Ukraine.
The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, DPRK, is North Korea’s official name.
“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 reported that the missiles, responsible for numerous civilian casualties, were discovered to contain components manufactured by foreign companies, including from Britain, China, Japan, Switzerland and the United States.
One missile was found to include a voltage converter produced in February last year, bearing the label of the British company XP Power.
The unit urged stricter controls on the export of such components.
The British arms watchdog Conflict Arms Research said in April it had analyzed 290 parts from a North Korean missile used by Russia against Ukraine and concluded that the missile was believed to be a North Korean short-range ballistic missile, either the KN-23 or KN-24.
At that time, the watchdog said it identified parts from companies based in the U.S., China, Germany, Japan, the Netherlands, Singapore, Switzerland and Taiwan.
In response to the report, a representative of a Japanese company, whose name and identification number were engraved on one of the missiles, told media that the item was “counterfeit,” noting that the engraving style differed from that of the authentic product.
The Ukraine intelligence unit’s report came about a week after South Korea’s spy agency confirmed that North Korea had exported additional artillery ammunition and launchers to Russia.
“In addition to artillery missiles, North Korea has also exported 170mm self-propelled artillery and 240mm howitzers,” said the National Intelligence Service, or NIS.
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North Korean casualties
Ukraine’s report also followed confirmation from South Korea’s main security agency that it had “specific intelligence” that North Korean forces in Russia had suffered casualties.
The U.S. and South Korea have said that North Korean troops had been fighting against Ukrainian forces in Kursk. The U.S. has estimated more than 10,000 North Korean soldiers had been sent to Kursk and they had begun combat operations alongside Russian forces.
Neither Russia nor North Korea have confirmed the presence of North Korean troops.
Separately, media reported that 500 North Koreans and one high-level North Korean official had been killed in a Ukrainian attack with British missiles last week.
The U.S. Department of Defense said on Tuesday it couldn’t independently confirm the reports.
“What we’ve said, you know, before is that they’re in that region and certainly poised to engage the Ukrainians in combat,” Deputy Pentagon Press Secretary Sabrina Singh told a briefing.
“But I can’t confirm those reports that there have been casualties yet.”
Edited by Mike Firn.