The White House, citing recently declassified intelligence, stated that Russia has recently used short-range ballistic missiles sourced from North Korea to bomb Ukraine. John Kirby, the White House national security spokesperson, informed reporters yesterday that Washington would raise this development in the United Nations Security Council. Kirby described the transfer of weapons from North Korea to Russia as a "significant and concerning escalation" and stated that the United States would impose additional sanctions on those facilitating these arms deals. Both Moscow and Pyongyang deny entering into any arms deals but pledged last year to strengthen military relations.
The use of the missiles has been condemned by Britain and South Korea, which noted in November that Pyongyang may have supplied Russia with short-range ballistic missiles as part of a larger arms deal that also included anti-tank missiles, anti-aircraft missiles, artillery shells, mortars, and rifles. Kirby stated, "Our information indicates that the Democratic People's Republic of Korea has recently provided Russia with ballistic missile launchers and several ballistic missiles," using North Korea's official name. He added that on December 30, "Russian forces fired at least one North Korean ballistic missile towards Ukraine," noting that the missile appeared to have landed in an open area.
Kirby mentioned that on Tuesday, Russia launched "many" North Korean missiles as part of a broad wave of intense airstrikes. Washington is still assessing the impact of those missiles. Russia has recently conducted some of the most violent attacks on Ukraine since the war began nearly two years ago. Kyiv reported on Tuesday that Russia launched over 300 missiles and various types of attack drones at cities across Ukraine since Friday.
Jini Town, director of the 38 North program at the Stimson Center, which studies North Korea, said, "Just like artillery and munitions, all of this helps prolong the Russian fighting effort." The White House did not specify the types of missiles sent by Pyongyang to Russia, but Kirby indicated that their range is about 900 kilometers and revealed an illustration that apparently depicted the KN-23 and KN-25 missiles. Ankit Panda from the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace stated that these are new, short-range ballistic missiles that North Korea began testing in 2019. He added, "This is the first known combat use of these North Korean missiles."
Kirby emphasized that the United States expects Russia and North Korea to learn from the launches, and anticipates that Moscow will use more North Korean missiles to target Ukraine. He further noted that Iran has not sent short-range ballistic missiles to Russia, but Washington believes Moscow intends to purchase missile systems from Tehran. China, which has ties with both North Korea and Russia, stated it had no information about any cooperation between Moscow and Pyongyang, while Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin called for all parties to commit to de-escalation and create conducive conditions for a political resolution to the Ukrainian crisis. Moscow largely relies on Iran for drones and other weapons for its war against Ukraine.
