North Korea is expanding a key weapons production complex that assembles KN-23 short-range ballistic missiles used by Russia against Ukraine, Reuters reported on Nov.25, citing researchers at the U.S.-based James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies (CNS) and satellite images.
Moscow launched around 60 North Korean KN-23 missiles in 2024, CNN reported last week, citing an unnamed Ukrainian defense official. This accounts for nearly one-third of the 194 ballistic missile strikes tracked by Ukraine’s Air Force.
August and September saw a surge in these attacks, with Ukrainian officials publicly identifying the KN-23 as a significant threat.
The facility, known as the February 11 plant, is part of the Ryongsong Machine Complex in Hamhung, the second-largest city in North Korea.
The plant was the only known manufacturer of KN-23 missiles, said Sam Lair, a research fellow at the CNS.
Previously released videos by North Korean state-controlled media showed that the complex produced everything from tank wheels to rocked motor cases, Lair added.
According to October satellite images, an additional assembly building is under construction, as well as a new housing facility that may be intended for workers, the think tank's analysis showed.
The new assembly building is about 60 to 70% the size of the previous one where the missiles were assembled, Reuters reported. The researchers also suggested that the entrances to some of the complex's underground facilities had been improved.
Moscow and Pyongyang signed a strategic partnership agreement in June, pledging to provide military support to one another if either country comes under attack. The Russian parliament ratified the defense treaty in October, amid reports that North Korea was sending troops along with weapons to aid Moscow's war against Ukraine.
Pyongyang has sent an estimated 10,000 troops to Russia, many of whom are stationed in embattled Kursk Oblast and are engaged in combat, a Pentagon spokesperson said during a Nov. 12 briefing.
The Kyiv Independent news desk
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