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North Korea continues to supply Russia with short-range ballistic missiles in defiance of sanctions.
The New York Times writes about it, Ukrinform reports.
As noted, the remains of four Hwasong-11 missiles were examined in Kyiv by researchers from the independent group Conflict Armament Research, which is based in Britain and is engaged in the identification and tracking of weapons and ammunition around the world.
The marking of the Hwasong-11 missile, which was used during the attack on Kyiv on August 18, indicated that it was manufactured this year. The internals of the three other missiles used in the attacks in July and August did not have such markings.
In early January, the White House accused North Korea of transferring ballistic missiles to Russia, but no new deliveries were reported.
According to a US military report, the Hwasong-11 missile has a range of about 700 km and can be equipped with nuclear or conventional warheads. It is visually similar to the Russian Iskander short-range ballistic missile and may have been produced with foreign assistance, according to the Washington-based think tank Center for Strategic and International Studies.
"The determination of the year of production that we were able to make by looking at these remnants indicates a very short period of time between production, transfer and use," said Damien Splitters, who heads the activity of Conflict Armament Research in Ukraine.
He said the Hwasong missiles tested contained common commercially available electronic components made by Western countries last year.
"North Korea does not have its own semiconductor industry. So it's only logical that they could also take advantage of the global market to get access to these components," Splitters added.
The United Nations Command (UNC) has called on Russia and North Korea to immediately end military cooperation and expressed serious concern about arms trade and other activities.
Photo: Kcna
