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On April 4, the White House announced that Russia has recently acquired dozens of ballistic missiles and launchers from North Korea, some of which have been used in attacks on Ukraine.
John Kirby, the Coordinator for Strategic Communications at the National Security Council in the White House, disclosed these details in a briefing, citing declassified information. He added that they would raise this issue at the United Nations Security Council.
Kirby said that Russia had fired at least one North Korean ballistic missile at Ukraine on March 30 and had used multiple North Korean ballistic missiles in night raids targeting Ukraine since the beginning of this year.
This is interpreted to mean that North Korean missiles are included in the largest-scale missile attack by Russia on Ukraine since the start of the invasion war on February 24, 2022. Previously, the Ukrainian government announced on April 2 that Russia had fired over 300 attack drones and various types of missiles at cities across Ukraine since March 29.
Kirby stated that the missile launched on December 30 last year seemed to have landed in an open field in the Zaporizhia region, and they are currently evaluating the impact of the missile launched on April 2.
The NSC then released explanatory materials marking the landing points of the North Korean ballistic missiles fired by Russia at Ukraine. This material included photos of the ballistic missile test launches that took place before North Korea provided the ballistic missiles to Russia.
Kirby said, “We anticipate that Russia will use additional North Korean missiles to target Ukraine’s civilian infrastructure and to kill innocent Ukrainian civilians.” He assessed that these North Korean ballistic missiles range is about 900 km (560 miles).
According to Kirby, North Korea reportedly seeks fighter jets, ground-to-air missiles, armored vehicles, ballistic missile production equipment and materials, and other advanced technologies in exchange for its support to Russia.
Other U.S. officials have said that North Korea is seeking more help on the range and accuracy of the intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBM) it has been testing in recent months, according to The New York Times (NYT).
The NYT pointed out that North Korea’s moves pose two major challenges to the United States. This suggests that while the U.S. Congress is still holding back additional support for Ukraine, including air and missile defense systems, Russia is enhancing its own missile production with new supplies. In addition, it shows that Russia, which once cooperated with the United States to restrain North Korea’s nuclear and missile programs, is now considering helping North Korea develop a more advanced missile system, the NYT expressed concern.
Kirby stated that while Iran hasn’t supplied short-range ballistic missiles to Russia, the United States believes Russia is interested in buying Iran’s missile systems.
Russia is heavily dependent on Iran for drones and other weapons to use in attacks on Ukraine, according to Reuters.
By. Man Joo Ha
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