Published January 5, 2024
- US, allies to raise North Korea’s violations before the UN Security Council
- Britain said it “strongly condemns” Russia’s move, and warned North Korea would pay a “high price”
WASHINGTON: North Korea has provided Russia with ballistic missiles and missile launchers that were used in recent attacks on Ukraine in a major escalation of support for Moscow, the White House said Thursday.
Russia is also looking to obtain missiles from its ally Iran as it runs short of arms nearly two years into President Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, it said.
The White House’s comments came as North Korean leader Kim Jong Un called for boosting production of missile launchers in preparation for a “military showdown” with South Korea and the United States, the official Korean Central News Agency said.
The Pyongyang-supplied missiles with ranges of around 900 kilometers (550 miles) were fired by Russia in two attacks on Ukraine within the past week, US National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said.
“Our information indicates that the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea recently provided Russia with ballistic missile launchers and several ballistic missiles,” Kirby told reporters in a briefing at the White House.
“This is a significant and concerning escalation of the DPRK’s support for Russia.”
The development underscored the need for the US Congress to pass a package of vital military aid for Ukraine, without which the pipeline of support will soon run dry, Kirby added.
Air defenses for Ukraine, which has come under a barrage of aerial attacks by Russia in recent days, were “absolutely” a priority, he said.
“It’s critical that Congress meets this moment and responds by providing the Ukrainians what they need to defend themselves. The time for Congress to act is now,” Kirby said.
Russian forces launched at least one of the North Korean-supplied missiles on December 30, which landed in an open field in the Zaporizhzhia region, according to the spokesman.
Moscow’s forces then fired “multiple” ballistic missiles into Ukraine as part of a mass aerial attack on January 2, he added.
The United States and its allies will now raise the matter at the United Nations Security Council as it represents a breach of UN sanctions against North Korea, said Kirby.
Britain said it “strongly condemns” Russia’s use of North Korean missiles.
“Russia is turning to North Korea for its weapons in pursuit of its cynical and ill-conceived military aims in Ukraine. This is symptomatic of its isolation on the world stage and a sign of its desperation,” a Foreign Office statement said.
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SOURCE: www.arabnews.com
RELATED: North Korea Supplied Russia With Ballistic Missiles for Use Against Ukraine, White House Says
FILE – People watch a TV broadcasting a news report on North Korea firing a ballistic missile into the sea off its east coast, at a railway station in Seoul, South Korea, March 16, 2023.
Published January 5, 2024
North Korea recently sent ballistic missiles and launchers to Russia for its use in its war against Ukraine, the White House said Thursday.
“This is a significant and concerning escalation,” National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told reporters, noting the United States would raise the issue with the United Nations Security Council.
Citing newly declassified intelligence, Kirby said Russian forces launched at least one of the North Korean-supplied missiles on December 30, which landed in an open field in the Zaporizhzhia region of Ukraine.
He said Russia then fired “multiple” ballistic missiles into Ukraine as part of a mass aerial attack on Tuesday, one of the largest assaults of the war that is now nearing the two-year mark.
Kirby said the U.S. and its allies would raise the arms shipment before the U.N. Security Council because it represents a breach of U.N. sanctions against North Korea.
Russia also intends to purchase missiles from its ally Iran, he said.
Both Moscow and Pyongyang have previously denied the weapons allegations.
U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Linda Thomas-Greenfield said in a statement, the U.S. believes North Korea sent Russia “several dozen ballistic missiles” and launched many of them on Tuesday.
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SOURCE: www.voanews.com
RELATED: Explainer: Where did Russia get its North Korean missiles?
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un views the launch of a Hwasong-18 intercontinental ballistic missile during what North Korea says is a drill at an unknown location December 18, 2023 in this picture released by the Korean Central News Agency. KCNA via REUTERS Acquire Licensing Rights
Published January 5, 2024
SEOUL, Jan 5 (Reuters) – Russia has launched multiple North Korea-made ballistic missiles at Ukraine recently, the White House said on Thursday, the first time the North’s latest weapons have been used in battle.
Here is what we know about the missiles, and where they came from.
WHAT MISSILES DID RUSSIA USE?
While the White House would not say specifically what type of missiles Pyongyang had sent to Russia, Kirby said they had a range of about 900 km (550 miles) and released a graphic that appeared to show KN-23 and KN-25 short-range ballistic missiles (SRBMs).
Joost Oliemans, a Dutch researcher and expert on North Korea’s military, said images from Ukrainian social media accounts clearly show fragments of the ring housing the control vanes that are characteristic to North Korea’s Hwasong-11 family of missiles, which includes the KN-23 and KN-24.
The solid-fuel KN-23 was first tested in May 2019, and is designed to evade missile defences by flying on a lower, “depressed” trajectory, experts said.
North Korea has test-fired it from wheeled launch vehicles, train cars, a buried silo, and a submerged submarine.
“Despite external characteristics and what some may state on the matter, this missile family does not appear to be substantially related to the Russian 9K720 Iskander, and is instead an indigenous North Korean development,” Oliemans said.
The KN-24, also powered by solid fuel, was first tested in 2019 and appears to have entered mass production and deployment with military units.
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SOURCE: www.reuters.com
