MFA: Western components were found in the North Korean missile used by the Russian Federation to attack Ukraine

Western components were found in the North Korean KN-23/24 missile, which the Russian Federation recently used to attack Ukraine.

This was stated by the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Andrii Sybiga in X.

"Itʼs outrageous. A recent examination of the North Korean KN-23/24 missile shot down in Ukraine revealed numerous newly produced Western-made components. Putin and Kim still have access to them," he wrote.

Sybiga called on the allies to react decisively, strengthen sanctions and export controls, and strengthen the Ukrainian air shield.

Union of Russia and North Korea

The Washington Post reported that North Korea could transfer approximately 1.6 million artillery ammunition to Russia from August 2023 to January 2024. During this period, more than 74,000 tons of explosives arrived in the DPRK from Russia.

On January 4, 2024, Western media reported that Russia had received a batch of ballistic missiles from North Korea (several dozen) and launchers for them. On the same day, the US officially announced that Russia had short-range ballistic missiles from North Korea and was launching them at Ukraine.

In an interview with Bloomberg on June 14, South Koreaʼs Defense Minister Shin Won-sik said that North Korea sent containers to Russia that can hold almost 5 million artillery shells, but Moscow needs more.

On October 4, the Kyiv Post, with reference to Ukrainian intelligence, reported that a day before, six North Korean officers were killed in an attack by the Armed Forces near occupied Donetsk. An anonymous Ukrainian official told The Guardian that North Korean military engineers are helping Russian troops strike Ukraine with North Korean KN-23 ballistic missiles.

Already on October 8, South Korean Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun said that the agreements between Russia and North Korea resemble a military alliance, therefore there is a high probability that the military from the DPRK is fighting on the side of the Russian Federation in Ukraine — and their number may increase. In a few days, President Zelenskyy confirmed that North Korea supplies Russia not only with weapons, but also with personnel for the military forces.

"Babel" intelligence sources said on October 1 that a "special Buryat battalion" staffed by citizens of the DPRK is being formed at the base of the 11th separate airborne assault brigade of the Russian Federation.

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