US Components Found in Missile Fired by Russia at Ukraine from NKorea

Russia last month fired a North Korean ballistic missile into Ukraine that had components mostly from U.S. and European companies, an investigation by a group that traces the supply sources of weapons revealed Tuesday.

Conflict Armament Research (CAR), based in the United Kingdom, documented the electronic components of a North Korean ballistic missile recovered in Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-largest city, on Jan. 2. It said it found more than 290 components, mostly in the missile’s navigation system, and not only did many bear the brands of companies based primarily in the U.S., but a substantial number were produced within the last three years.

“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 nonproliferation regimes,” CAR’s report said.

CAR said this marks the first public identification of North Korea’s reliance on nondomestic technology for its missile program. It added because it is working closely with the industry to trace the components and identify the entities responsible for their diversion, it will not identify the companies linked to their production.

In the recovered ballistic missile, CAR said it identified 26 companies linked to the production of the components, with 75% of them incorporated in the U.S. Germany was next with 11.9%, followed by Singapore (3.4%), Japan (3.1%), Switzerland (2.4%), China (2%), the Netherlands (1.4%), and Taiwan (0.3%).

CAR said because half the components had identifiable date codes, and more than 75% were produced between 2021 and 2023, it determined the missile recovered in Kharkiv could not have been assembled before March 2023.

“This illustrates the recent production of the missile and the short window of its reported transfer to the Russian Federation before being used in the Kharkiv attack,” CAR said.

CAR said North Korea has been able to produce advanced weapons, integrating components made as recently as 2023, despite U.N. Security Council sanctions in place since 2006 that prohibit the production of ballistic missiles by Pyongyang. It also showed that, despite long-standing international sanctions, North Korea could have transferred the weapon to Russia after the start of its invasion into Ukraine in February 2022.

“The presence of a large proportion of recently produced nondomestic 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,” CAR said.

National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said during a Jan. 4 briefing that “our information indicates that [North Korea] recently provided Russia with ballistic missile launchers and several [dozen] ballistic missiles.” He added Russia used the missiles to strike Ukraine on Dec. 30 and Jan. 2, and that North Korea “is seeking military assistance from Russia, including fighter aircraft, surface-to-air missiles, armored vehicles, ballistic missile production equipment or materials, and other advanced technologies.”

“This would have concerning security implications for the Korean Peninsula and the Indo-Pacific region,” Kirby said.