North Korea is likely receiving “valuable technical and military insights” on the performance of its weapons in Ukraine, a South Korean official has claimed.
Pyongyang is reportedly using Kyiv as a “test site” for its missiles, rockets, and artillery by allowing Russia to use them in its “special military operation.”
Among the North Korean weapons believed to be operational in Ukraine is the KN-23 solid-fueled tactical ballistic missile, which can reportedly carry nuclear warheads.
“From the Republic of Korea standpoint, [the use of its weapons] amounts to a simulated attack,” South Korean ambassador to the UN Hwang Joon-Kook said.
Being able to collect data in an actual war is the first visible benefit of closer Russia-North Korea relations, according to Hwang.
‘Not Doing it for Free’
South Korea’s defense ministry said earlier this week that Moscow has received around 7,000 containers of weapons from North Korea to support its invasion of Ukraine.
These containers reportedly contain over three million 152-millimeter artillery shells, 500,000 122-millimeter self-propelled rockets, and an undisclosed number of banned ballistic missiles.
US State Department Deputy Assistant Secretary Jung H. Pak said the use of such weapons in Ukraine only shows that Moscow is “blatantly disregarding non-proliferation norms.”
He also pointed out that North Korea has to gain something from sending weapons to Russia because it “certainly is not doing this for free.”
Pyongyang previously denied it was providing the invading forces with weapons.