U.S. Components Discovered in North Korean Missile Launched by Russia Into Ukraine

The Russian military fired a ballistic missile Ukraine bought from North Korea, according to new research from an independent investigative organization.

Knewz.com has learned that Conflict Armament Research documented electronic components recovered from missile remnants from Kharkiv, a city in eastern Ukraine, and found that while the missile was built in North Korea, many of its components bear the marks of having been built in the U.S.

Components recovered from a North Korean missile fired by Russia on Ukraine. By: Conflict Armament Research

The Conflict Armament Research (CAR) group also found evidence that components were built in China, Germany, Japan, Netherlands, Singapore, Switzerland, Taiwan, and the U.S. However, 75% of them came from America.

“North Korea’s ability to produce and transfer advanced weapons, while acquiring material internationally to fuel its missile program in spite of long-standing United Nations sanctions, is the latest evidence of countries undermining global non-proliferation regimes,” the U.K.-based organization wrote in its report.

Additionally, the missile could not have been built before March 2023, highlighting that Pyongyang is still adept at circumnavigating sanctions. The United Nations Security Council imposed restrictions on North Korea in 2006 specifically designed to prevent the country from building ballistic missiles, but that has proven ineffective.

“The presence of a large proportion of recently produced non-domestic electronic components in a North Korean ballistic missile strongly suggests that the country has developed a robust acquisition network capable of circumventing, without detection, sanction regimes that have been in place for nearly two decades,” the group wrote.

Debris from a North Korean missile that was fired on Kyiv. By: MEGA

Additionally, the rocket was recovered on January 2, 2024, which meant there was not much turnaround time between when the missile was transferred to Russia and when it was used.

The globalized manufacturing network is a key reason why it has become difficult to clamp down on components reaching countries like North Korea. While the U.S. may own the development process and technology, many of these components are manufactured all around the world, making it easier for them to fall victim to third-party distribution channels.

“The presence of these components also illustrates just how reliant Iran, North Korea, and the Russian Federation are on non-domestic technology for the sustained production of their war materiel,” wrote CAR.

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine brought Moscow much closer to Pyongyang, including a recent meeting between the foreign ministers meant to discuss the developing relationship between the two countries.

Russian strikes on Ukraine feature components built all over the world. By: MEGA

Russian President Vladimir Putin famously hosted North Korean Dictator Kim Jong Un in September. Putin gifted Kim a luxury limousine earlier this week, which was described as a “clear demonstration of the special personal relations between the top leaders.”

On January 23, the U.K. sent photographs to the United Nations (U.N.) that purport to show hard evidence that North Korea is supplying Russia with weapons.

The U.N. is expected to issue a report imminently about North Korean weapons transfers to Russia. If that report is consistent with third-party analysis, then Russia would officially be in violation of sanctions imposed since 2022.

Ukraine officials said its military killed 60 Russian soldiers on February 2, 2024, who were grouped in a training formation. The attack came a day after Kyiv said it killed 65 soldiers in an almost identical attack.