Over the past year, the accuracy of North Korea’s missiles has improved to within 50-100 meters of the intended target. This increase in weapon precision occurred suddenly after months of inaccurate launches.
Reuters reports this, citing sources.
In the past few weeks, Russian forces have launched more than 20 North Korean ballistic missiles at Ukraine. All of them have been noticeably more accurate than before. According to Reuters’ sources, the missile accuracy has improved to 50-100 meters, whereas previously, it ranged from one to several kilometers.
Before participating in the war against Ukraine, North Korea had no opportunity to test its weapons in real combat conditions. However, now they are manufacturing missiles and receiving feedback from their client—the Russian army—allowing them to gain the experience needed to create more advanced missiles.
Yang Uk, a weapons expert from the Asan Institute for Policy Studies in Seoul, says his sources in Ukraine have reported that the latest batches of missiles transferred by North Korea to Russia have been improved. It remains unclear what exactly North Korea has changed. They may have been designed with enhanced navigation systems or steering mechanisms to facilitate maneuverability.
Russia has begun launching North Korean short-range ballistic missiles KN-23, KN-23A, and KN-24.
Reuters refers to these as the Korean K-23, K-23A, and K-24 missiles. However, the Ukrainian Air Force uses the “KN” nomenclature to designate them.
Since late 2023, the Russian army has fired around 100 such projectiles at Ukraine, one source told Reuters. According to them, North Korean missiles have a longer range than Russia’s equivalent Iskander-M ballistic missiles.
In February 2024, former Ukrainian Prosecutor General Andriy Kostin stated that Russia had launched 24 North Korean missiles at Ukraine. At that time, only two relatively accurately hit their designated coordinates. The rest had deviations of several kilometers, and some exploded mid-air.
It should be noted that North Korea continues supplying weapons to Russia, with another medium-range ballistic missile, the Pukguksong-2, potentially included in the list.
Read also: January 2025 second most costly month of the war for Russia – UK intelligence