A new Ukrainian analysis of two North Korean ballistic missile types found that the weapons were built with commercial electronics, but likely made with methods that were outdated by up to 50 years.
Officials said the findings, published by Ukraine’s defense ministry on Thursday, came after military engineers and scientists conducted “laboratory studies” on debris from solid-fuel KN-23 and KN-24 missiles used on Ukrainian territory in early 2024.
The report found that while the North Korean missiles bore similarities to Russian counterparts, they used less energy-efficient fuel and required engines that were 50% larger to travel the same range.
“At the same time, outdated methods are used during production, and the quality of the soldering is about 50 years old,” the defense ministry wrote.
It added that forensics had found the missiles to be tipped with graphite, a “relatively cheap solution” to protect them from heat while in flight.
The defense ministry said its forensics team identified the KN-23 and KN-24 using South Korean schematics and photographs from North Korean factories, denoting seven key similarities. It added that the KN-23 had a specific frame diameter used only by North Korea.
The KN-23, also known as the Hwasong-11A, was first revealed by Pyongyang during a military parade in 2018, and is often compared to Russia’s Iskander-M short-range ballistic missile. The other missile, the KN-24, made its public debut as the Hwasong-11B in 2019, and bears some similarities to the US-made ATACMS tactical ballistic missile.
The Ukrainian report, however, wrote that instead of being direct analogs to the Iskander-9M723 missile, the North Korean missiles showed signs that Pyongyang had “refined some initial version of the Iskander ballistic missile development.”
Meanwhile, the missiles’ control units were found to contain “civilian components from leading brands,” the defense ministry said.
“Pyongyang is apparently purchasing these chips to circumvent sanctions,” its statement read.
Ukraine’s military intelligence agency, GUR, said in late 2024 that it had found components in the KN-23 and KN-24 manufactured by companies in China, Japan, Switzerland, the UK, and the US.
Kyiv first reported the use of the KN-23 in January of that year, saying that Russia had launched the missiles at Kharkiv. Ukrainian officials said at the time that the munitions were highly inaccurate and unreliable, with at least half exploding in the air before reaching their targets.
The next month, Ukraine also said it had shot down KN-24 missiles launched by Russia against Kyiv. It accused North Korea in early 2025 of supplying the Kremlin with at least 148 ballistic missiles.
Since the start of the war, Russia has sought to strengthen ties with North Korea, receiving troops and arms to help drive Ukraine out of Kursk and sustain its invasion. The US and South Korea have raised concerns beyond that, warning that Pyongyang has been gaining valuable combat knowledge in both troop tactics and arms-making.
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