Russia has used North Korean missiles in Ukraine 9 times says US official

The Russian Armed Forces have used North Korean missiles at least nine times against targets in Ukraine according to accusations from one diplomat of the United States. This is what we know and why the accusation is important. 

United States Alternate Representative for Special Political Affairs in the United Nations Robert Wood accused the Kremlin of firing North Korean ballistic missiles at Ukraine during a February 6th U.N. Security Council meeting. 

"Russia has launched DPRK-supplied ballistic missiles against Ukraine on at least nine occasions," Wood explained according to Reuters, which added that Wood used North Korea’s formal name: the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK).

Wood went on to explain that both "Russia and the DPRK must be held accountable for their actions,” and added that those actions undermined “long-standing obligations under UN Security Council resolutions.” 

Business Insider reported that a  press briefing from the United Nations on the meeting did not mention the accusations but noted that if they proved true, they would be a very significant development showcasing Russia’s increasing use of Pyongyang's weapons. 

Russian President Vladimir Putin met with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un all the way back in September 2023 at a rare bilateral summit that saw the two leaders discuss military matters, the war in Ukraine, and North Korea’s secret satellite program. 

Reuters reported at the time that Putin gave a number of hints that military cooperation between the two nations had been discussed but no hard details were given. However, shortly after the visit, it seemed North Korean weapons began flowing to Russia.

For example, in October 2023, an analysis of satellite imagery from the United States that was reported on by The New York Times seemed to show that North Korea was shipping over 1,000 containers to Russia and it was believed they were filled with weapons. 

What weapons may have been inside those containers was not revealed. But the United States has provided evidence on two Russian ballistic missile attacks on Ukraine that the White House claims originated in North Korea. 

"Our information indicates that the Democratic People's Republic of Korea recently provided Russia with ballistic missile launchers and several dozen ballistic missiles," National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said during a January 4th press conference.

Kirby revealed that the attacks took place on December 30th, which included at least one North Korean ballistic missile, and January 2nd, which included multiple missiles. The impact of each strike was still being assessed at the time. 

"We expect Russia and North Korea to learn from these launches, and we anticipate that Russia will use additional North Korean missiles to target Ukraine's civilian infrastructure and to kill innocent Ukrainian civilians," Kirby said.

However, the United States isn’t the only country that has offered evidence that Russia was indeed using North Korean missiles against Ukraine. South Korea’s UN ambassador Joonkook Hwang accused Russia of using North Korea’s KN-23 missile 3 times. 

On February 7th, Serhii Bolvinov, the head of the investigation department of Kharkiv Oblast’s police accused Russia of using five KN-23 missiles in an attack against targets in Kharkiv. Photo evidence was provided of the missile debris. 

Photo Credit: Facebook @СергійБолвінов

Bolvinov’s claim couldn’t be verified according to Business Insider, but even if it is true, experts have said that their use in Ukraine could help the United States determine the effectiveness of North Korea’s ballistic missiles. 

Photo Credit: Facebook @СергійБолвінов

"If Ukraine, for example, proves more successful in shooting down North Korean missiles compared to Russian ones, then we can assume that North Korean technology is not as advanced," the Center for Strategic and International Studies’ Ramon Pacheco Pardo told Business Insider.