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Ukraine’s spy chief said Russia helped North Korea fix a severe accuracy flaw in its KN-23 missiles.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n
Often compared to the Iskandar-M, it’s a ballistic missile with a range of over 400 miles.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n
Budanov cited the KN-23 as an example of how Pyongyang is gaining from its fight against Ukraine.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
North Korean KN-23 missiles had an accuracy flaw removed by Russian technicians as they were deployed against Ukraine, said Kyrylo Budanov, the head of Ukraine’s intelligence agency.<\/p>\n
Speaking to the South Korean media outlet Chosun Ilbo<\/a>, Budanov cited the missile as an example of Pyongyang’s combat tech receiving major improvements from the active fighting.<\/p>\n “Initially, its accuracy was severely flawed, with an error margin of 500 to 1,500 meters,” he said in the interview, published on Monday. “But Russian missile experts made technical modifications, resolving the issue. The missile is now significantly more precise and a far greater threat.”<\/p>\n The KN-23<\/a> is the missile’s US designation, but North Korea has named it the Hwasong-11A. The solid-fueled ballistic missile is believed to have a range of about 430 miles and is often compared to Russia’s Iskandar-M, with a typical payload of up to 1,100 pounds.<\/p>\n It’s one of North Korea’s newer weapons, debuting during a parade in 2018, with a range that would allow it to strike deep into South Korea. In July, Pyongyang said it tested an advanced version of the missile, the Hwasong-11Da-4.5<\/a>, saying it can carry a 4.5-ton warhead.<\/p>\n The White House said in January 2024 that Russia had fired multiple North Korean short-range ballistic missiles against Ukraine, and it’s widely believed that these were the KN-23 and KN-24.<\/a><\/p>\n Referencing the strikes, South Korea’s ambassador to the United Nations said at the time that North Korea was using Ukraine as “a test site of its nuclear-capable missiles<\/a>.”<\/p>\n