A suspected Japanese-made component found in a North Korean missile fired by Russia forces towards Ukraine is likely fake, Japan’s Asahi Shimbun daily reported on Thursday.
A journalist from the paper checked the wreckage of the North Korean missile in the custody of the Ukrainian government last month and found a fist-sized bearing on the missile engraved with the word “JAPAN”, the name of a Japanese conglomerate and identification numbers, the newspaper reported.
The missile was recovered in January in Kharkiv, in northeastern Ukraine.
A company representative checked the photos of the missile against the genuine item and confirmed it was “counterfeit,” the newspaper said, adding that the style of engraving was different from the genuine product. The official did not elaborate.
The Asahi Shumbun’s report comes two months after the British arms watchdog Conflict Arms Research (CAR) said it had analyzed 290 parts used in the North Korean missile used by Russia against Ukraine and identified parts from companies based in the United States, China, Germany, Japan, the Netherlands, Singapore, Switzerland and Taiwan.
The missile was believed to be a North Korean short-range ballistic missile, either the KN-23 or KN-24.
A CAR official told the Asahi Shimbun that several parts used in the missile were found to be counterfeit, and that several European-based companies were believed to have made the fake components.
But the official did not disclose the parts or identify the companies.
The Asahi Shimbun cited Katsuhisa Furukawa, who served on an expert panel for the U.N. Security Council’s North Korea sanctions committee, as saying it was quite possible that North Korea was tricked by middlemen and bought fake components.
“North Korea has no choice but to rely on foreign-made parts to improve the accuracy of its short-range missiles,” Furukawa said, noting that fake or low-quality parts, including bearings, could reduce the accuracy of North Korea’s missiles.
Furukawa said if the international community could not stop North Korea from dodging sanctions, it would be good to intentionally provide fake parts to them.
Last month, Russia’s newly appointed ambassador to Japan warned it of serious consequences and retaliatory steps if Patriot missile systems manufactured under U.S. license in Japan ended up in Ukraine.
At that time, Russia’s state-run RIA news agency cited the new envoy, Nikolai Nozdrev, as saying that Russia would be watching closely to see where Japanese arms exports ended up after Japan eased its export rules at the end of last year.
He said, in particular, Russia would be watching to see if and when any Patriot missile systems and missiles made in Japan under U.S. license were exported to the U.S. and then to Ukraine.
Edited by RFA Staff.