North Korea may supply tactical guided missiles to Russia - defence chief

South Korea's defence chief has said that North Korea may sell new types of tactical guided missiles to Russia in addition to its alleged supply of short-range ballistic missiles for Moscow's use in its ongoing war with Ukraine.

Defense Minister Shin Won-sik also said North Korea could test-fire solid-fuel intermediate-range ballistic missiles (IRBM) as early as this month and may launch a long-range missile at normal angles to escalate already-high tensions ahead of key elections in South Korea and the United States.

In an exclusive interview with Yonhap News Agency on January 10, Shin said the weapons system unveiled by North Korean state media during leader Kim Jong-un's visit to a munitions factory earlier this week appears to be close-range ballistic missiles (CRBMs) capable of carrying tactical nuclear weapons.

"North Korea first test-fired a close-range ballistic missile in April 2022. It is a new type of weapon with an estimated range of 100-180 kilometres," Shin said.

The defence ministry evaluated the North Korean missiles atop mobile launchers as being CRBMs, which are about 5 meters long with a firing range below 300 km.

Shin suggested that Kim's recent visit to munitions factories could be linked to North Korea's alleged arms supply to Russia as the two countries have been strengthening their military cooperation.

"North Korea said it will deploy (CRBMs) with front-line troops. Given the recent arms trade, (I think) North Korea could sell them to Russia," Shin said, citing the North's suspected sales of KN-23 short-range ballistic missiles to Russia.

The White House has recently declassified intelligence showing that North Korea had provided Russia with ballistic missile launchers and several ballistic missiles with ranges of 900 km.

North Korea is estimated to have provided around 5,000 containers of weapons to Russia as of the end of December, which can accommodate some 2.3 million rounds of 152-millimeter shells or some 400,000 rounds of 122 mm artillery shells, according to the minister.

United Nations delegates spoke out against Russia's use of North Korean ballistic missiles in Ukraine at a Security Council meeting on January 10, according to a UN press release.

Russian forces have launched multiple North Korean ballistic missiles at Ukraine since December 30, 2022, according to U.S. officials.

Following a series of massive Russian aerial attacks, including a January 2 strike that involved ballistic missiles, the Security Council announced it would convene to address Pyongyang's supply of weapons to Moscow.

North Korea has made Ukraine “a test site of its nuclear-capable missiles,” South Korea's UN Envoy Hwang Joon-Kook said during the meeting.

“The introduction of North Korean missiles into the war in Ukraine has a significant implication on global nuclear non-proliferation,” he said.

Joon-Kook also said he agreed with the assessments of some experts that Russia fired KN-23 missiles into Ukraine, weapons that North Korea claims can deliver nuclear warheads.

The U.S. and nearly 50 allies published a joint statement on January 9 condemning North Korea's alleged transfer of ballistic missiles to Russia and calling for an immediate end to the supply of weapons.

At the January 10 meeting, Russia's delegate denied reports that Russia used ballistic missiles provided by North Korea in Ukraine, and accused the U.S. of spreading disinformation.

Sergiy Kyslytsya, Ukraine's permanent representative to the UN, said that Russia is able to inflict harm on Ukraine from a safe distance “due to an ongoing supply of weapons and munitions from rogue States."