UN Security Council told of North Korean missiles used by Russia in Ukraine

Research group tells UN Security Council of irrefutable proof of Russian use of North Korean missiles in war on Ukraine.

North Korea is capable of producing ballistic missiles and supplying them to Russia for use in Ukraine in a matter of months, researchers have told the UN Security Council (UNSC), following the discovery of North Korean missile remnants on the Ukrainian battlefield.

Jonah Leff, head of the United Kingdom-based Conflict Armament Research, which traces weapons used in conflicts, including Russia’s war on Ukraine, told the UNSC on Wednesday that remnants of four missiles from North Korea recovered in Ukraine in July and August had included one that indicated it was produced in 2024.

“This is the first public evidence of missiles having been produced in North Korea and then used in Ukraine within a matter of months, not years,” Leff told the council.

In June, Leff also briefed the UNSC that his organisation had “irrefutably” established that ballistic missile remnants found in Ukraine early this year were from a missile manufactured in North Korea.

The report on Russia’s use of North Korean missiles in Ukraine came as Pyongyang said its military alliance with Russia was proving “very effective” in deterring the United States and its “vassal forces”.