A new concern in Ukraine: N. Korea’s latest missiles

Officials fear Russians plan to beat air defenses

BERLIN — When Russia turned to Kim Jong Un of North Korea to help it through its war with Ukraine, it came with a big shopping list that included 1 million rounds of artillery to shoot at Ukrainian troops dug into trenches across the south and east, and dozens of North Korea’s newest, barely tested missiles.

Now, those weapons are beginning to show up, deeply worrying US and European officials who say they fear the North’s ammunition could be important on the battlefield at a huge moment of vulnerability for Ukraine.

While many of the North Korean artillery rounds are proving to be duds — some appear to have been manufactured decades ago — they are giving the Russians something to fire at Ukrainian forces, who are rationing their own dwindling supply. European nations promised Ukraine a huge resupply but, for now, seem to have been able to scrounge up only 300,000 or so artillery shells.

But it is the missiles that raise the most concern, from the Pentagon to NATO’s headquarters in Brussels. In interviews, a range of officials said they fear the Russians hope to use missiles to overwhelm Western air defenses. While so far the number of missiles transferred is small, likely fewer than 50, US and European officials believe there could be far more to come.

And unlike with the artillery rounds, North Korea is not shipping its older equipment. An analysis by Conflict Armament Research, an organization that has documented the arms used in Russia’s war in Ukraine, showed the missiles being provided to Russia are more recent in design. And US officials say the missiles are proving to be as accurate as Russia’s home-built equipment. Three barrages of North Korean-made missiles targeted Ukrainian positions around the new year, US officials say, and they believe more were used on the battlefield Sunday.

In South Korea, officials and analysts say the Ukraine war is giving the North something it desperately needs: a testing ground to see how its new missile arsenal, designed for a conflict with South Korea and the United States, fares against Western-designed air defenses.

The turn to North Korea, as the war approaches its second anniversary, reflects Russia’s own struggle to keep up with the pace at which both sides are burning through their stocks of arms. Russia has also turned to Iran for drones and is reportedly seeking Iranian missiles as well — though there is no evidence it has yet gotten them.

The bulk of the missiles being fired at Ukraine are still produced in Russia. But if North Korea steps up its supply, Ukraine could be forced to shoot off precious rounds of air defenses, a development that could be devastating to Ukraine if additional military funding is not approved by Congress, US officials said. The imports have especially alarmed leading members of NATO, who have declined to speak publicly but say they worry the infusion could be particularly troublesome at a time when Ukraine is uncertain about when or from whom it will receive its next supplies.

For now, the air defenses are holding. Last Tuesday, General Christopher Cavoli, the top US commander in Europe, told Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin that he believed the Ukrainian military had enough air defenses to survive the winter, two senior US officials said.