- Ukrainian prosecutors examined debris from 21 North Korean missiles fired by Russia to assess the threat.
- North Korea’s missiles appear to have a high failure rate, with about half losing their programmed trajectory and exploding in midair.
- North Korean missiles account for a small portion of Russia’s attacks in the Ukraine war.
Ukraine’s State Prosecutor’s Office announced that it had examined debris from 21 of the approximately 50 North Korean ballistic missiles launched by Russia between the end of December and the end of February, in order to assess the threat posed by cooperation between Russia and North Korea. .
Regarding details of the ongoing investigation into the missile, which had not been previously reported, Ukraine’s top prosecutor Andriy Kostin’s office also told Reuters that North Korea’s weapons appear to have a high failure rate.
“About half of North Korea’s missiles lost their programmed trajectories and exploded in mid-air, in which case no debris was recovered,” Kostin’s office said in a written response to Reuters questions.
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Although North Korean missiles account for a small portion of Russia’s attacks during the war against Ukraine, their alleged use has caused alarm from Seoul to Washington. That’s because it could signal the end of nearly two decades of agreement among the permanent members of the United Nations Security Council. Prevent North Korea from expanding its nuclear and ballistic missile programs.
A representative of the public prosecutor’s office shows part of an unidentified missile in Kharkiv, Ukraine, January 6, 2024. The Ukrainian State Prosecutor’s Office announced that it had investigated debris from 21 of the approximately 50 North Korean ballistic missiles launched by Russia between late December and late December. In February, it sought to assess the threat posed by cooperation between Russia and North Korea. (Reuters/Vyacheslav Madiyevskyy/File photo)
In addition to giving North Korea the opportunity to test missiles, Russia has taken steps to make it difficult for the United Nations to monitor sanctions imposed on North Korea in 2006.
Last month, the Russian government vetoed the annual renewal of the U.N. Sanctions Observatory, known as the Panel of Experts, which has overseen enforcement of U.N. sanctions against North Korea’s official name, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK), for 15 years. did.
China, one of the five permanent members of the Security Council along with Russia, the United States, Britain and France, abstained from voting.
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Days before its mandate expired, the commission submitted a report confirming for the first time that a North Korean-made ballistic missile known as the Hwasong-11 struck the Ukrainian city of Kharkov, in violation of UN sanctions.
Edward Howell, a North Korea expert at the University of Oxford, said this and Russia’s veto signal that Russia and North Korea are strengthening their bilateral relationship beyond a primarily transactional barter agreement. He said it was highlighted.
“There is a lasting legacy that is now forming, that North Korea, through guarantees of Russian support, can actually undermine key international institutions such as the United Nations Security Council,” he said. It is a fact.”
The Russian presidential palace referred questions about North Korea’s missiles to the Russian Defense Ministry, which did not respond to emailed questions from Reuters. The North Korean mission to the United Nations in Geneva also did not respond.
Dozens killed or injured
Despite the setback at the United Nations, Kostin said his office would continue investigating.
Prosecutors said they had identified the Hwasong-11 missile (also known as KN-23 in the West) based on its flight trajectory, speed, and launch location, even though they were unable to collect debris at the crash site.
The public prosecutor’s office said the last recorded use of the KN-23 was on February 27, and the total number of launches confirmed by the prosecutor’s office means North Korea has delivered about 50 ballistic missiles to Russia. It added that it had compiled the information shown.
According to the United States, Russia received ballistic missiles and artillery shells from North Korea after the country’s leader, Kim Jong Un, held an unusual summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin last September.
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Kostin’s office said the 21 cases in which debris was collected include three cases where shots were fired in the Ukrainian capital Kiev and surrounding areas. Others hit the regions of Kharkov, Poltava, Donetsk and Kirovohrad.
The attack, which began on December 30, 2023, left 24 people dead, 115 injured, and many residential buildings and industrial facilities damaged.
It added that about 50 missiles were fired from multiple locations in western Russia, including Belgorod, Voronezh and Kursk.
The Ukrainian statement did not say whether the missile was shot down by air defenses. Ballistic missiles are typically difficult to intercept due to their trajectory and speed.
Kostin’s office said Ukrainian authorities are still investigating whether North Korea sent instructors to monitor the ballistic missile launch.
