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Half of North Korea’s first missile shipment to Russia exploded in mid-air — now they strike Ukrainian targets with deadly precision
Russia has begun striking targets in Ukraine with “deadly accuracy.” Improved North Korean KN-23 ballistic missiles have given Moscow a much-needed source of short-range missiles, Kyrylo Budanov, chief of Ukrainian military intelligence, told The War Zone.
The first batch of missiles from North Korea proved to be of extremely poor quality. About half of them not only deviated from their trajectory but also exploded in mid-air.
“Initially, with the beginning of the transfer to Russia, they were flying with a deviation of a few kilometers, but now they are exactly hitting the target. This is the result of the common work of Russian and North Korean specialists,” he said.
He also noted that Russia is providing North Korea with technology in exchange for troop and weapons supplies.
“Also, there is the modernization of the aviation means of engagement — long-range air-to-air missiles. Particular technologies on submarines. Unfortunately, ballistic missiles which are carriers of nuclear payloads,” the intelligence chief explained.
Budanov also added that agreements exist to begin establishing production facilities on North Korean territory for manufacturing “Harpy” and Shahed-136 drones, which will lead to changes in the regional military balance between North and South Korea.
Additionally, North Korea supplies Russia with:
- 122mm D-74 guns
- 107mm infantry variant MLRS
- 240mm MLRS
- 170mm M1989 Koksan self-propelled artillery
The latter system performs quite well in combat. It fires from a considerable distance and is quite accurate, Budanov noted.
He added that, according to intelligence data, Pyongyang has transferred 120 such systems to Russia. Budanov believes that supplies of these systems to Russia will continue.
