Experts Spot Troubling Marking on Russian Ballistic Missile, Realize It Came From North Korea

Experts at a European investigative organization say that a missile recently fired at a Ukrainian target by invading Russian forces was very likely manufactured in North Korea.

The missile struck Ukrainian’s second-largest city, Kharkiv, on Jan. 2. Its remnants were examined by a “field investigation team” from U.K.-based Conflict Armament Research, an organization that seeks to track the movement of arms and munitions to war zones and militants groups.

“Based on several unique features observed during documentation, CAR determined that this missile was manufactured in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (North Korea) and is probably a  KN-23 or KN-24 , both of which were first tested in 2019 and reportedly  entered service with North Korea in 2020,” CAR reported on its website.

CAR published excerpts of some of the most relevant portions of its findings on X.

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The size and configuration of some of the missile’s components and the identification of several markings led investigators to determine that the missile had originated in North Korea.

They also compared the missile’s remnants to known Russian missiles, and found that they did not match.

“The use of such missiles leads to further erosion of global nonproliferation regimes, following the Russian Federation’s earlier use of Iranian [unmanned aerial vehciles], which CAR first reported  in November 2022,” the organization concluded.

According to The New York Times, Russia had asked North Korean strongman Kim Jong Un for a million artillery shells and “dozens of North Korea’s newest, barely tested missiles.”

The Times reported that Russian had used North Korean missiles against Ukraine at least three times in the past 30 days.

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The Times painted the situation as possibly dire — “a huge moment of vulnerability for Ukraine” that unnamed western officials found “deeply worrying” — despite also reporting that the Ukraine’s air defenses had not failed and had munitions sufficient for at least the next could of months.

“But if North Korea increases its missile shipments, and Congress fails to pass additional aid, that calculation could change,” the Times said.

European officials, again unidentified by the Times, “believe there could be far more to come,” the outlet claimed.

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The Times also noted that, while the few missiles apparently supplied by North Korea so far — reportedly fewer than 50 in total — have been manufactured relatively recently, a great number of the North Korean artillery rounds haven’t even exploded on impact after being fired. Some, in fact, have reportedly exploded in the Russian guns before being fired.

More unnamed “officials and analysts,” this time from South Korea, reported told the Times that North Korea was happy to provide the arms to Russia because it allowed them to test their efficacy against NATO defenses.

North Korean state media has said that Russian President Vladimir V. Putin was planning another trip to North Korea, presumably again with hat in hand, looking for more munitions that his own country is apparently unable to produce.


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George Upper is the former Editor-in-Chief of The Western Journal and was a weekly co-host of “WJ Live,” powered by The Western Journal. He is currently a contributing editor in the areas of faith, politics and culture. A former U.S. Army special operator, teacher and consultant, he is a lifetime member of the NRA and an active volunteer leader in his church. Born in Foxborough, Massachusetts, he has lived most of his life in central North Carolina.

George Upper, is the former editor-in-chief of The Western Journal and is now a contributing editor in the areas of faith, politics and culture. He currently serves as the connections pastor at Awestruck Church in Greensboro, North Carolina. He is a former U.S. Army special operator, teacher, manager and consultant. Born in Massachusetts, he graduated from Foxborough High School before joining the Army and spending most of the next three years at Fort Bragg. He holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in English as well as a Master’s in Business Administration, all from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. He and his wife life only a short drive from his three children, their spouses and his grandchildren. He is a lifetime member of the NRA and in his spare time he shoots, reads a lot of Lawrence Block and John D. MacDonald, and watches Bruce Campbell movies. He is a fan of individual freedom, Tommy Bahama, fine-point G-2 pens and the Oxford comma.

Birthplace

Foxborough, Massachusetts

Nationality

American

Honors/Awards

Beta Gamma Sigma

Education

B.A., English, UNCG; M.A., English, UNCG; MBA, UNCG

Location

North Carolina

Languages Spoken

English

Topics of Expertise

Faith, Business, Leadership and Management, Military, Politics



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