The White House has revealed that Russia utilized short-range ballistic missiles (SRBMs) acquired from North Korea in recent strikes against Ukraine.
North Korean KN-23 solid-fueled tactical ballistic missile / Open source photo via Defense Express
This information is supported by the newly declassified military intelligence material.
John Kirby, the national security spokesperson, stated that the United States plans to bring this development to the attention of the United Nations Security Council.
Describing North Korea’s transfer of arms to Russia as a “significant and concerning escalation,” Kirby mentioned that additional sanctions would be imposed on those involved in facilitating such arms deals.
Both Russia and North Korea deny engaging in arms deals, but they had pledged to enhance military relations last year. But on the contrary, the intelligence data shows that the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea had recently provided Russia with ballistic missile launchers and multiple ballistic missiles.
Russian forces deployed at least one of these North Korean ballistic missiles into Ukraine, said the spokesperson, noting that it seemed to have landed in an open field. Subsequently, on last Tuesday, Russia initiated the launch of “multiple” North Korean missiles as part of a broader series of heavy airstrikes, with the impact of those missiles still under assessment by Washington.
Recent events have witnessed some of the most intense strikes by Russia on Ukraine since the conflict began nearly two years ago. Kyiv stated that over 300 attack drones and various missiles were launched by Russia at cities across Ukraine since Friday.
The White House did not specify the exact type of missiles Pyongyang supplied to Russia, but it is known that they had an approximate range of 900 km (550 miles). The released graphic created based on expert evaluations indicated KN-23 and KN-24 missiles.
The missiles in question represent a new type of solid-propellant Short-Range Ballistic Missiles (SRBMs) that North Korea began testing in 2019.
Written by Alius Noreika