Russia seeks new KN-30 ballistic missiles and launchers from North Korea – Ukrainian intelligence
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North Korea's KN-30 ballistic missile is three times more powerful than the KN-23 (pictured) (Photo: DR)
Russia is asking North Korea for a new package of military support, including KN-30 ballistic missiles and launchers, Andrii Cherniak, a representative of Ukraine’s Defense Intelligence (HUR), told news agency Liga.net on Aug. 25.
Moscow is in talks with Pyongyang as it seeks additional military aid ahead of the fall and winter.
According to preliminary Ukrainian intelligence estimates, the Kremlin has requested:
- 120 ballistic missiles and six launchers;
- a missile unit of up to 90 personnel;
- a North Korean army contingent of 30,000 to 50,000 troops.
Cherniak said it is not yet known where those forces or systems would be used.
KN-30 missiles are about three times more powerful than the KN-23 and KN-24 models, though Ukrainian intelligence has not yet recorded any transfer of KN-30s to Russia.
So far, according to Cherniak, Russia has received 40 KN-23/24 missiles from the requested package, and two of them were already used in one of the recent strikes on Ukraine.
Missile terror against Ukraine remains part of the Kremlin’s broader strategy, he added.
“In this way, the enemy is trying to intimidate Ukrainians, fuel destruction and conflict inside the country, and undermine our resilience,” he said.
At the end of July, a North Korean ballistic missile killed members of the Voronov family, a large family living in the settlement of Radushne near Kryvyi Rih. According to HUR, the missile missed its intended target by about 15 kilometers.
On Aug. 8, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Russia was planning to station between 30,000 and 50,000 North Korean troops on its territory.
According to Zelenskyy, the numbers first involved hundreds, then thousands of North Korean servicemen, and now Moscow has decided on a much larger deployment. He said the North Korean troops would study the experience of modern warfare while on Russian territory.
On Aug. 10, Zelenskyy said Russia had received additional ballistic missiles from North Korea and was planning to deploy another North Korean military contingent on its soil.
According to HUR, North Korea has already increased its military presence in Russia with a new contingent of 8,500 personnel, including drone operators capable of striking targets inside Ukraine.
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