The KN-23 missiles are capable of hitting targets up to 500 miles away
North Korea’s ballistic missiles have become a lethal asset for Russia’s war in Ukraine, with the accuracy drastically improving, defence analysts have warned.
The surge in precision has made them a formidable challenge for Ukraine’s air defences, raising concerns that Pyongyang is using the battlefield to refine its weapons technology that could have wider implications for global security.
Over recent weeks more than 20 North Korean KN-23 ballistic missiles have struck Ukraine, according to Reuters. These missiles, capable of hitting targets up to 500 miles away, have overwhelmed Ukraine’s already depleted air defence systems.
Alexander Lord, a defence analyst at the geopolitical risk consultancy Sibylline, told The i Paper: “The KN-23 is the ballistic missile the Russians are utilising the most. Publicly, they are not acknowledging they’re using these systems, but there is growing consensus that these weapons have been improved.”
He added: “The improvements are likely in terms of navigational guidance and, crucially, accuracy.
“Ukraine has little to shoot them down, or at the very least, the strikes are overwhelming its air defences, allowing other missiles to penetrate Ukrainian targets.”
Pyongyang and Moscow’s growing alliance The deepening military ties between Moscow and Pyongyang have been cemented in recent years, with both countries isolated, they have rekindled their old alliances from the Cold War era.
Vladimir Putin visited North Korea for the first time in 24 years in July, culminating in a treaty on “Comprehensive Strategic Partnership”.
Western intelligence sources suggest that in exchange for sending missiles and troops, North Korea is receiving Russian military technology, including satellite guidance systems that could further enhance its missile capabilities now being used against Ukraine.
Dorothy Camille Shea, the US deputy ambassador to the UN, warned that Pyongyang was gaining “valuable combat experience” from the war in Ukraine.
Reuters reported that North Korea’s missile accuracy has drastically improved from an estimated 1-3km deviation to just 50-100m, raising fears that Russia is sharing key military technology.
Mr Lord suggested Russian expertise may have played a role in the upgrades: “The technology resembles Russia’s Iskander missile, and there’s a strong possibility that Moscow is sharing technical know-how. While this is unlikely to extend to nuclear weapons, conventional missile technology exchanges seem highly probable.
“North Korea is in a unique position to test its weapons in real combat scenarios, gathering crucial data that could be brought back to Pyongyang to refine their arsenal. It serves their interests to augment their missile capabilities, which strengthens Kim Jong Un’s posture against South Korea and Japan.”
North Korean troops on the front line Beyond missiles, reports indicate that Pyongyang has also provided manpower. South Korea’s intelligence service says North Korea has deployed at least 12,000 troops to Russia’s Kursk region, an area that Ukraine has been contesting since its surprise cross-border offensive last August.
Ukraine has claimed it has captured or killed large numbers of North Korean troops in Kursk, with President Volodymyr Zelensky releasing footage of what he says are North Korean prisoners of war.
“The total losses of the DPRK contingent amounted to about 4,000 people,” Ukraine’s general staff reported. “Out of three notional North Korean brigades, one was actually destroyed and two lost their combat capability. Thus, the DPRK units have now been withdrawn from the front line.”
Despite the heavy losses, Zelensky warned in his 5 January interview with American podcaster Lex Fridman, that Pyongyang could send an additional 30,000-40,000 troops to the front.
But South Korea’s National Intelligence Service (NIS) told the AFP news agency that the North Korean units have halted combat operations in Russia’s Kursk region “since mid-January”.
A war of attrition in Kursk Analysts caution that this could be a tactical pause rather than a full withdrawal, as the inexperienced North Korean troops regroup, and possibly prepare for the long-awaited counter-offensive into Kursk.
“North Korean troops have suffered extremely high casualties,” Lord said. “They have been engaging in large infantry assaults, which exposes them to Ukrainian drone attacks and precision artillery fire. While these tactics have brought some battlefield successes, they have also resulted in unsustainable losses.”
Matthew Ford, a lecturer in international relations at the University of Sussex, added that the “operational challenges stem from how integrated Russia’s command and control are with North Korea’s troops”.
“It could be the case they lack co-ordination, navigating a language barrier and may lack a level of integration the Ukrainian troops have.”
“By comparison, Ukraine troops in Kursk are experienced units, who have been fighting for nearly three years. With North Korean troops lacking experience in modern warfare, and on the offensive to win-back Kursk, they are clearly at a disadvantage.”
Lord added that Ukraine remains committed to holding Kursk as a bargaining chip in future negotiations. “For Russia, Kursk is less of a priority compared to Donetsk, where Moscow is focusing its main offensive efforts.
“If North Korea recommits its troops, we could see a renewed grinding offensive in the region. But the costs for Pyongyang would be severe.”
As the war continues, North Korea’s missiles striking deeper into Ukraine, Pyongyang is not only helping Moscow, but also using the war as a testing ground for its own future conflicts.
