There had been at least 10 cases of Russia using North Korean missiles to strike Ukraine, said Jung Pak, the U.S. Senior Official for North Korea, as reported by the Voice of America (VoA) on March 18.
North Korea has been shaping up as Russia's leading weapons supplier, reportedly providing Moscow with extensive military packages, including ballistic missiles and over 3 million artillery shells.
Oleksandr Filchakov, the head of the Kharkiv Oblast prosecutor's office, said on March 14 that Russia had used nearly 50 North Korean missiles to attack Ukraine since the beginning of the full-scale invasion, which is five times more than the numbers announced by Pak.
"This is, of course, concerning to us that we have a known proliferator in (North Korea) selling weapons to Russia, and to be able to conduct their unlawful brutal attack on Ukraine, killing Ukrainian people, destroying Ukraine infrastructure, and just destroying lives," Pak said.
Pak also announced that North Korea reportedly supplied Russia with at least 10,000 containers of weaponry, which is almost three thousand more compared to the numbers unveiled by South Korea's Defense Ministry in February.
According to Pak, North Korea is not doing it "for free" and could be learning from Russia's use of these weapons and ballistic missiles on the battlefield.
"There are almost certainly things that (North Korea) wants in return. And we're concerned about what might be going to the other side," Pak added.
One of the first cases of Russia using North Korean ballistic missiles was recorded on Dec. 30, 2023, during an attack on Zaporizhzhia, the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) wrote.
Later on, Russia's use of North Korean missiles was officially confirmed in the attack on Kharkiv on Jan. 2. Two other cases of the launch of North Korean missiles at Kharkiv Oblast are currently being investigated, according to the local prosecutor's office.
Katie Marie Davies
(Updated: )
