The North Korean ballistic missile that Russia used to hit Kharkiv last month contains hundreds of components produced by American and European companies. In addition, most of these parts were produced within the last three years.
This is stated in the report of the British organization Conflict Armament Research (CAR).
CAR investigators examined 290 components from the remains of a North Korean ballistic missile recovered in January in Kharkiv. Experts found that 75% of the parts were developed and sold by companies registered in the United States. At the same time, 16% of components were manufactured by companies registered in Europe, another 9% by enterprises registered in Asia.
These details, mostly related to the missileʼs navigation system, can be linked to 26 companies headquartered in the US, China, Germany, Japan, the Netherlands, Singapore, Switzerland and Taiwan.
There is no talk of direct deliveries of spare parts yet, as there is no evidence of this. Presumably, the DPRK purchased Western components through intermediaries — bypassing sanctions.
- In January 2023, the United States released evidence that North Korea had been supplying Russia with weapons since at least November 2022. The head of Ukrainian military intelligence, Kyrylo Budanov, stated at the beginning of 2024 that the DPRK is now the largest supplier of weapons to Russia.
- On January 4, 2024, Western media wrote 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 had launched them into Ukraine — the first on December 30, 2023 (fell in Zaporizhzhia) and several others on January 2 during a massive missile attack. On January 10, South Koreaʼs ambassador to the UN said that North Korea is using Ukraine as a testing ground for its ballistic missiles with the help of Russia.
- On February 16, the Prosecutor General stated that Russian troops had already launched at least 24 North Korean-made NK-23 ballistic missiles over Ukraine. These are data for the period from December 30, 2023 to February 7, 2024. Rockets attacked Zaporizhzhia, Kyiv, Kharkiv, towns and villages in Kirovohrad, Poltava, Donetsk, and Dnipropetrovsk regions. In total, they killed 14 civilians, injured more than 70 people.