The U.S. Defense Intelligence Agency in a new report provided evidence that Russia indeed used North Korean ballistic missiles for strikes on Ukraine.
American intelligence reached this conclusion by comparing images of missile debris found in Kharkiv after Russian strikes on January 2 with images of missiles in North Korean state media from 2023.
"The debris in Ukraine visually matches the missiles in the images from North Korean state media," the report states.
Among other things, analysts at the Pentagon's Defense Intelligence Agency identified similarities in the front engine sections, aft engine sections, cable trays, and circular connectors in the photos of missile debris in Kharkiv and the missile at the factory in Pyongyang.
Last month, UN experts also concluded that "the missile debris found in Kharkiv, Ukraine, on January 2, 2024, came from a North Korean Hwasong-11 missile" and indicated violations of the embargo on arms supplies to and from North Korea.
It is known that Russia and North Korea have intensified their military cooperation over the past year. Moscow is known to have received North Korean ballistic missiles and ammunition and has promised Pyongyang its own technologies in response for satellite and missile programs.
