The participation of North Korean missiles in the Russian-Ukrainian war has long been a tacit matter between the two sides of the war. On the 7th of this month, Andriy Kostin, director of the Office of the Prosecutor General of Ukraine, announced that they found that in the first quarter of this year, half of the about 50 North Korean missiles launched by Russia failed. Although the missile also departed, it lost control halfway through the flight and finally exploded. From the fragments of the missile, Ukrainian technicians found that there are a large number of parts and components produced in the United States and Europe, and the latest date is actually March 2023, that is, even if it is blocked by sanctions, North Korea still has the ability and means to obtain some sensitive goods, and they can also send the missiles they made to Russia quietly.
Of course, Russia and North Korea are not critical to the ironclad evidence of Ukraine's participation in the war, but in fact, Russia and North Korea have indeed become very close to each other over the years. In September last year, the DPRK leader paid a state visit to Russia, and after visiting the Vostochny Cosmodrome, the DPRK side expressed great interest and wanted to try to develop space technology. And Russia also patted its chest, saying that it could help North Korea explore. Later, Russian presidential press secretary Dmitry Peskov also revealed that their all-round relations with the DPRK would involve military-technical cooperation.
Earlier, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu also visited the DPRK, and at that time the issue of enhancing military cooperation between Russia and the DPRK was also discussed. At that time, the conflict between Russia and Ukraine had been more than a year, so Western media said at the time that the two sides were discussing the supply of missiles to Russia. That is, a few months later, North Korean artillery shells appeared on the Russian-Ukrainian battlefield, and the last time it appeared was on February 27 of this year, when the Hwasong-11 missile was used.
And the fate did not hit, of course, Russia, as the launcher, is clear, so since February, there has been no latest news on North Korean missiles. As for why the actual combat reliability of North Korea's missiles is low, there may be many reasons, such as the fact that North Korea still has some shortcomings in terms of high-end electronic numbers. Another example is that the missile uses solid fuel propulsion, and in terms of safety performance, once the casting quality is poor, it will lead to overheating and explosion. For various reasons, Shoigu has urgently changed his plan, relying on others is better than relying on himself, and Russia has decided to work overtime to produce short- and medium-range ballistic missiles on its own. On 7 July, the Russian Satellite News Agency quoted the Russian Foreign Ministry as saying that in view of what the United States has done, Russia will step up research and development and launch the production of medium- and short-range ballistic missiles. And based on previous experience, this time will not be too long.
Finally, let's talk about the missiles made by the DPRK, although its quality is average, it is better than the cheap price, which will not affect its subsequent spread to more countries and regions. In addition, benefiting from the system, the DPRK's military industry has become more and more perfect, and because South Korea, which is separated by a line, has the support of the United States behind it, the whole country has concentrated its efforts on developing its military strength. The US Pentagon even believes that the DPRK has specially sent personnel to Russia to pay attention to the actual combat situation of the DPRK's missiles so that they can improve them in the future, and this situation is by no means a good thing for the ROK, Japan, and the US troops stationed there. In September last year, Sullivan also said that if North Korea provided weapons to Russia, it would pay a price. However, if there are too many debts, the DPRK should naturally not be concerned.
In the future, there may be more military exchanges between Russia and North Korea, today is Mars 11, maybe tomorrow, Mars 11B and military equipment with the official scientific name of "super large rocket artillery". Ukraine is already calling for the international community to curb North Korea's arms exports, but the United States can't do anything about how to contain it, and if it wants to come to other Western countries, it will only hang high!