On January 2, a young Ukrainian weapons inspector, Kristina Kimaciuk, learned that an unusual-looking missile had crashed into a building in Kharkiv. She started calling her military contacts. Within a week, the munitions expert recovered the remains of the missile.
Piece by piece, screw by screw
He photographed every part, including screws and computer chips smaller than a fingernail. He realized immediately that he didn’t have a Russian missile in front of him, but the challenge was to prove it.
Amidst the scraps of metal, Kimaciuk identified a tiny character from the North Korean alphabet.
Then he came across a more telling detail; the number 112 had been stamped on parts of the case. This corresponds to the year 2023 in the North Korean calendar.
He realized that he had before him the first concrete evidence that Pyongyang’s weapons were being used by the Russians to attack his country.
“I heard that they delivered weapons to Russia, but now I was able to see the evidence, investigate it in a way that no one has been able to do before,” said the Ukrainian expert.
Ukraine’s military says dozens of North Korean missiles have been fired by Russia into its territory. They killed at least 24 people and injured more than 70.
With all the recent talk of simulated nuclear launches overseen by dictator Kim Jong Un, the immediate threat now is North Korea’s ability to fuel existing wars and global instability.
Kimaciuk found that the North Korean missile benefited from “the latest foreign technology”. Most of the electronic parts have been manufactured in the US and Europe in recent years. There was even an American computer chip made in March 2023.
North Korea, fast-forward: procured the components, brought them into the country, assembled the missile and shipped it to Russia
North Korea illegally procured vital components, brought them into the country, assembled the missile and secretly shipped it to Russia, which used it on the front line. All in a few months.
Despite being under severe sanctions for almost two decades, North Korea still manages to get its hands on everything it needs to manufacture its weapons, and with extraordinary speed.
Damien Spleeters, CAR Deputy Director:
Many of the computer chips that are integral to modern weapons that guide them through the air to their intended targets are the same chips that are used to control our phones, washing machines and automobiles, Spleeters says.
How Pyongyang “imports” electronic parts
The North Koreans set up shell companies in Hong Kong or other Central Asian countries to buy items using mainly stolen cash. They then ship the products to North Korea, usually across the border into China. If a bogus company is discovered and sanctioned, another will quickly spring up in its place.
Both Russia and China have refused to impose new sanctions on North Korea since 2017.
In London, Joseph Byrne, a North Korea expert at the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI) defense think tank, was equally stunned.
“I never thought I would see North Korean ballistic missiles used to kill people on European soil,” he said.
The missile fired on January 2 by the Russians was apparently Pyongyang’s most sophisticated short-range missile, the Hwasong 11, capable of traveling up to 700 kilometers.
Dr. Jeffrey Lewis, an expert on North Korean weapons and non-proliferation at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies, says they are “no worse than Russian missiles.” The upside is that “they’re extremely cheap.”
Russians buy cheaper and shoot more
This means you can buy more and fire more in the hope of overwhelming air defenses.
RUSSIA has been tracking North Korean arms shipments to Russia since Kim Jong Un met Vladimir Putin in Russia last September to seal an alleged arms deal.
Using satellite imagery, they were able to observe four Russian cargo ships traveling back and forth between North Korea and a Russian military port, loaded with hundreds of containers at a time.
In total, RUSI estimates that 7,000 containers were sent, filled with more than a million shells and rockets, “the kind that can be launched from trucks in large bursts.” Russia and North Korea have denied arms trafficking.
“These shells and missiles are some of the most sought-after weapons in the world and allow Russia to continue pounding Ukrainian cities at a time when the US and Europe have been slow to move on what weapons to give Kiev,” Byrne stated.
Since the 1980s, North Korea has sold its weapons abroad, mostly to countries in North Africa and the Middle East, including Libya, Syria and Iran. They were believed to be old, Soviet-style missiles with a bad reputation.
There is evidence that Hamas fighters used Pyongyang’s old rocket-propelled grenades in the October 7 attack.
By buying Pyongyang’s weapons, Moscow is now violating the sanctions it once voted for as a member of the UN Security Council.
What does North Korea gain?
Russia could provide Pyongyang with raw materials to continue its missile production, or even military equipment such as fighter jets, and – at the extreme end – technical assistance to improve its nuclear weapons.
In addition, North Korea has the chance to test its latest missiles in a real war scenario for the first time. With this valuable data, you will be able to improve them.
North Korea could become a major supplier of missiles to countries in the China-Russia-Iran bloc. Following Iran’s attack on Israel this month, the US said it was “incredibly concerned” that North Korea could be working with Iran on its nuclear and ballistic weapons programmes.
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Tags: North Korean Weapons Western Components Kill Ukrainians Putins War Implications
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