Latest news with #Pyongyang
New York Times
11 hours ago
- Business
- New York Times
North Korea Gets a Weapons Bonanza From Russia
Attack drones directed by artificial intelligence. Tanks with improved electronic warfare systems. A newly built naval destroyer fitted with supersonic cruise missiles. A new air-defense system. Air-to-air missiles. The list of new weapons being touted by North Korea grows almost by the week. Long-held conventional wisdom had it that North Korea — crippled by international sanctions, natural disasters and the coronavirus pandemic — was unable to upgrade its decrepit Soviet-era military because it lacked the money, fuel, spare parts and technology required. But its wily leader, Kim Jong-un, found a solution to his country's decades-old problem. He courted Russia after it invaded Ukraine three years ago and ran into a dire shortage of both troops and conventional weapons, like artillery shells. North Korea had plenty of both to provide. In return, Moscow has revived a Cold War-era treaty of mutual defense and cooperation with Pyongyang, supplying North Korea not only with fuel and food, but also with materials and technologies to modernize its military, according to South Korean officials and analysts. They warn that the growing expansion of military cooperation between Russia and North Korea, if left unchecked, could threaten a delicate military balance around the Korean Peninsula. The disintegration of the old Soviet bloc, and the subsequent collapse of North Korea's economy, created a yawning gap between North and South Korea in their conventional weapons abilities. To counter that, North Korea in recent decades dedicated its limited resources to developing nuclear warheads and their delivery missiles. Still, the North's conventional weaponry remained many years behind that of South Korea and the United States, which keeps 28,500 troops in the South. Russia's war against Ukraine has brought Mr. Kim a military bonanza. It gave North Korea opportunities to test its weapons and troops, and to gain valuable insights into modern warfare. Its conventional weapons industry has entered a renaissance, thanks to Russia's insatiable demand for its artillery shells and missiles and the military technology flowing the other way, South Korean analysts said. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
NHK
a day ago
- General
- NHK
Analysis: Russia used over 90 N.Korean-made missiles in attacks on Ukraine
According to analysis by Ukraine's military intelligence, Russia launched more than 90 North Korean-made ballistic missiles over the 19 months through March targeting Ukraine. It says the attacks left more than 170 people dead or wounded. Russia has been deepening military cooperation with Pyongyang, and using North Korean-made short-range ballistic missiles, known as the KN23 and the KN24, in its attacks across Ukraine. NHK obtained the analysis from a Ukrainian military intelligence source. It says Russia fired a total of 95 North Korean-made ballistic missiles on Kyiv as well as Dnipropetrovsk in the eastern region, Poltava in the central region and elsewhere between August 2023 and early March of this year. These strikes killed 20 people and injured 154. In an attack in August 2024, a residence in the Kyiv region was destroyed, claiming the lives of a man in his 30s and his 4-year-old son. Ballistic missile attacks using the North's missiles have continued beyond March. In April a missile hit an apartment block in Kyiv, killing 12 people. The analysis found that in more than half of the attacks missiles landed on vacant ground or disappeared mid-flight, failing to cause damage. It also says Moscow obtained 148 ballistic missiles from Pyongyang in 2024 and is expected to receive at least 150 this year. A senior Ukrainian official in charge of national security noted that the accuracy of North Korean missiles has significantly improved, causing increasing damage.
The Guardian
2 days ago
- General
- The Guardian
Ukrainian cities ‘terrorised' by North Korean weapons in Russian hands
Russian forces have used North Korean weapons to intensify missile attacks against critical civilian infrastructure in Ukraine and 'terrorised' entire cities, according to a report by UN members that reveals the extent of Moscow's dependence on the regime in Pyongyang. The Multilateral Sanctions Monitoring Team, comprising 11 countries including the US, Britain, EU states and Japan, said Kim Jong-un's dictatorship had supplied Russia with more than 20,000 containers of munitions since September 2023. The team said the evidence it had gathered showed that North Korea and Russia had engaged in 'myriad unlawful activities' prohibited by UN sanctions resolutions. In June 2024, Kim, the North Korean ruler, and Vladimir Putin, the Russian president, signed a comprehensive strategic partnership treaty that commits the two countries to come to each other's aid if attacked. In its first report since it was formed in 2024 to monitor UN sanctions triggered by the North's nuclear weapons programme, the group said as many as nine million rounds of artillery and rocket launcher ammunition had been shipped from North Korea to Russia. 'At least for the foreseeable future, North Korea and Russia intend to continue and further deepen their military cooperation in contravention of relevant UN security council resolutions,' the monitoring team said. North Korea had also 'contributed to Moscow's ability to increase its missile attacks against Ukrainian cities, including targeted strikes against critical civilian infrastructure'. North Korea is seeking Russian help with its troubled spy satellite programme in return for providing military aid, including thousands of soldiers. It has also sent Russia powerful weapons. Since it started shipping ammunition to Russia in September 2023, the North has transferred at least 100 ballistic missiles, self-propelled artillery guns, long-range multiple rocket launchers and munitions, according to the report. The report said North Korea had transferred the arms and other items by sea, air and rail. North Korean ballistic missiles were being used 'to destroy civilian infrastructure and terrorise populated areas such as Kyiv and Zaporizhzhia', it said. The Kremlin has reciprocated by helping Pyongyang with its ballistic missile programmes through the provision of data feedback based on the weapons' performance in the Ukraine war. This, the report said, had led to 'improvements in missile guidance performance'. Moscow had also provided air defence equipment and anti-aircraft missiles, as well as electronic warfare systems to North Korea, it said. The estimated 11,000 North Korean soldiers sent to fight in the war with Ukraine last year have also gained first-hand battlefield experience, to the alarm of officials in South Korea. The report noted that a further 3,000 reinforcements had been dispatched recently. The 11-member monitor group was set up after Russia vetoed a resolution in March 2024 that would have seen a UN security council panel of experts continue monitoring North Korea for violation of sanctions. Kim and Putin last month confirmed for the first time that North Korea had sent troops to fight for Russia in the war with Ukraine, describing them as 'heroes'.
The Independent
2 days ago
- Politics
- The Independent
North Korea accused of ramping up military aid to Russia in clear breach of UN sanctions, say US and allies
The United States and 10 allies on Thursday said the military cooperation between Russia and North Korea flagrantly violates U.N. sanctions and has helped Moscow increase its missile strikes on Ukrainian cities. They made the accusations in their first report since joining forces to monitor sanctions against North Korea after Russia vetoed a resolution in March 2024 to continue the monitoring by a U.N. Security Council panel of experts. It had been issuing reports of Pyongyang's sanctions violations since 2010. The 29-page report produced by the Multilateral Sanctions Monitoring Team — comprised of the U.S., Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Netherlands, New Zealand, South Korea and the United Kingdom — said the evidence it gathered demonstrates that North Korea and Russia have engaged in 'myriad unlawful activities' explicitly prohibited by U.N. sanctions resolutions. It said North Korea has transferred arms and related materiel by sea, air and rail, including artillery, ballistic missiles and combat vehicles, for Russia's use in the war in Ukraine. Russia has transferred air defense systems to North Korea, and its forces trained the North's troops deployed to support Russia's war, the team said. And Moscow also has supplied refined petroleum products to Pyongyang in far excess of the yearly cap under U.N. sanctions, and has maintained corresponding banking relations with the North in violation of sanctions. The 11 countries said this unlawful cooperation has 'contributed to Moscow's ability to increase its missile attacks against Ukrainian cities including targeted strikes against critical civilian infrastructure.' The cooperation also has provided resources for North Korea to fund its military and banned ballistic missile programs., and it allowed the more than 11,000 troops Pyongyang has deployed to Russia since October 2024 to gain first-hand military experience, the team said. There was no immediate response from the Russian Mission to the United Nations to a request for comment on the report. The report covers the period between Jan. 1, 2024, and April 30, 2025, and points to evidence that Russia and North Korea intend to further deepen their military cooperation for at least the foreseeable future. It cites an unnamed country in the team reporting that Russian-flagged cargo vessels delivered as many as 9 million rounds of ammunition for artillery and multiple rocket launchers from North Korea to Russia in 2024. The report includes images of containers, which the team says were from North Korean and Russian ports and an ammunition dump in Russia. Citing an unnamed team member, the report says North Korea last year transferred at least 100 ballistic missiles to Russia, which were launched into Ukraine 'to destroy civilian infrastructure and terrorize populated areas such as Kyiv and Zaporizhzhia." It also transferred 'elements of three brigade sets of heavy artillery,' the report said. It includes images of a North Korean 170mm self-propelled gun that it said was being transported through Russia, and North Korean multiple rocket launcher ammunition and an anti-tank missile it said were found in Ukraine. The team said in a joint statement that it will continue to monitor implementation of U.N. resolutions 'and raise awareness of ongoing attempts to violate and evade U.N. sanctions.' It urged North Korea 'to engage in meaningful diplomacy.' The Security Council imposed sanctions after North Korea's first nuclear test explosion in 2006 and tightened them over the years in a total of 10 resolutions seeking — so far unsuccessfully — to cut funds and curb its nuclear and ballistic missile programs. The last sanctions resolution was adopted by the council in December 2017. China and Russia vetoed a U.S.-sponsored resolution in May 2022 that would have imposed new sanctions over a spate of intercontinental ballistic missile launches, and have blocked all other U.N. action against North Korea.
NHK
2 days ago
- General
- NHK
North Korea transferred 100 ballistic missiles to Russia, monitoring team says
A multinational team set up to monitor UN sanctions on North Korea says the country unlawfully transferred at least 100 ballistic missiles to Russia last year. The Multilateral Sanctions Monitoring Team released its first report on Thursday. The team was created by 11 countries, including Japan, the United States and South Korea. The move was made after a UN Security Council panel of experts tasked with monitoring the implementation of sanctions against the North ceased its activities last year. Russia used its veto to block the panel's activities. The report says that last year North Korea also supplied Russia with anti-tank missiles and other weapons in violation of UN Security Council resolutions. It says Pyongyang deployed more than 11,000 troops to Russia in late 2024, and over 3,000 additional soldiers between January and March of this year. The report says Russia is believed to have provided the North with air defense systems and advanced electronic warfare systems, including jamming equipment. The report notes that Moscow did not notify the UN committee in charge of the sanctions that it had supplied Pyongyang with refined oil. It says that Russian-flagged vessels were used to ship artillery shells and other items in large quantities to meet rising demands following the start of Russia's military operation in Ukraine. The monitoring team says it will work with the UN Security Council to identify additional individuals, entities and vessels involved in helping North Korea evade the UN sanctions. The team also says it will step up efforts to monitor the transfer of items that could contribute to the development of the North's nuclear and missile programs.
