“The United States, along with other nations, has leveled allegations against North Korea, claiming it transferred weapons to Russia, potentially for use against Ukraine, following the latter’s invasion in February 2022. Despite fervent denials from both Moscow and Pyongyang, tensions persist as the two nations pledged to strengthen military ties in the preceding year.”
“In a report disclosed to a Security Council committee, United Nations sanctions monitors revealed that debris recovered from a missile incident in the Ukrainian city of Kharkiv on January 2 originated from a North Korean Hwasong-11 series ballistic missile. The findings, shared with Reuters on Monday, underscore the international community’s ongoing scrutiny of arms proliferation amidst escalating tensions.”
“The comprehensive 32-page report from U.N. sanctions monitors unequivocally stated that the debris retrieved from the missile incident in Kharkiv, Ukraine, on January 2, 2024, unequivocally traces back to a North Korean Hwasong-11 series missile. This definitive conclusion not only highlights the violation of the arms embargo imposed on North Korea but also underscores the gravity of international concerns regarding illicit arms proliferation.”
Formally known as the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK), North Korea has been under U.N. sanctions for its ballistic missile and nuclear programs since 2006, and those measures have been strengthened over the years.
Three sanctions monitors traveled to Ukraine earlier this month to inspect the debris and found no evidence that the missile was made by Russia. They “could not independently identify from where the missile was launched, nor by whom.”
Information on the trajectory provided by Ukrainian authorities indicates it was launched within the territory of the Russian Federation,” they wrote in an April 25 report to the Security Council’s North Korea sanctions committee.“Such a location, if the missile was under control of Russian forces, would probably indicate procurement by nationals of the Russian Federation,” they said, adding that this would be a violation of the arms embargo imposed on North Korea in 2006.
The Russian and North Korean missions to the United Nations in New York did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the report by the sanctions monitors.
