Moscow’s use of Pyongyang-supplied missiles on the battlefield demonstrates the successes of the Kim Jong-un regime.

In recent weeks, Russian troops have launched short-range ballistic missiles in Ukraine supplied by North Korea, according to assessments by Washington, Seoul and Kyiv. Pyongyang has provided Moscow with dozens of these weapons, the US claims.

The WSJ writes that officials came to the conclusion that North Korean weapons were used after analyzing the debris collected in Ukraine. According to defense experts, Russia used new short-range KN-23 and KN-24 missiles developed by Pyongyang. Both countries deny involvement in arms supplies.

Despite a flurry of test launches, North Korea has so far been unable to assess how its new generation of short-range ballistic missiles perform on the battlefield – particularly against Western defense systems.

The fighting is likely to provide leader Kim Jong Un’s regime with new opportunities to proliferate, security experts say. The country’s illegal weapons business dates back decades, although it has declined in recent years. Traditional customers in the Middle East, Africa and other regions have switched to cheaper drones, which have proven to be better than Pyongyang’s outdated offerings. Tighter sanctions have raised the risk that cargo in transit could be intercepted.

The use of short-range missiles gives new impetus to North Korea’s arms sales as militarization increases around the world and creates new demand from countries without access to legal arms sales.

“North Korea will be able to get a price for these systems that has never been seen before,” says Toby Dalton, senior fellow and co-director of the Carnegie Endowment’s Nuclear Policy Program. “It’s a cash cow.”

Kim recently visited the country’s largest ammunition factories, ordering officials to ramp up production. Increased arms sales could provide a much-needed boost to North Korea’s economy still recovering from the pandemic.

The country’s exact missile production capacity is difficult to estimate, given the Kim regime’s penchant for secrecy. However, South Korean experts estimate that there are more than 300 ammunition factories in North Korea, including another 100 civilian facilities that could switch to weapons production.

North Korea has some advantages over the West, where arms makers are struggling to keep up with demand driven by the war in Ukraine. Weapons production in Pyongyang is controlled by the state. Kim can hire people into factories if he wants to increase production.

Pyongyang relies on domestic manufacturers and illegal networks to supply its missile industry. But it also relies heavily on Russia and some other allies for supplies and technological know-how, says Tushar Sudesh Mangure, a defense analyst at data firm GlobalData. To further increase production, Russia could provide raw materials that North Korea struggles to obtain, he added.

That Russia, a permanent member of the UN Security Council, is using North Korean missiles with apparent success sends some very clear signals to potential buyers who may still be hesitant about doing arms business with the Kim regime, says Daria Dolzikova, a fellow at the Royal Institution. Joint Services, a London-based defense and security think tank.

One such signal, she said, is that Russia is unlikely to clamp down on any such transactions taking place across its borders or seek penalties for buyers at the UN. Another is that North Korean missile systems may be more reliable than previously thought.

North Korean missile strikes on Ukraine – latest news

During the New Year holidays, Russia attacked Ukraine with ballistic missiles produced in the DPRK.

The representative of South Korea to the UN, Hwang Jung Kook, emphasized that the DPRK is using Ukraine as a testing ground for missiles capable of carrying a nuclear charge, having sold these weapons to Moscow.