Putin's chilling plot to arm North Korea with deadly missiles capable of striking Seoul
North Korea has reportedly gained access Shahed-type drones, the same ones terrorizing Ukraine, after forming an alliance with Russia.
A Ukrainian military intelligence official warned that North Korea has gained access Shahed-type drones, which have terrorized Ukraine amid its war with Russia.
Ukraine's military intelligence directorate Kyrylo Budanov told The War Zone that North Korea will be supplied with the long-range loitering munitions by Russia, which has been producing over 2,000 of the weapons per month, with plans to improve its capabilities and expand production to 5,000 monthly.
Budanov believes that the two countries, which formed an alliance last fall amid the Ukraine war, struck a deal to send Russia's Garpiya and Geran drones, inspired by Iran’s Shahed-136, to North Korea, which he warned could be used against South Korea.
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"[The drones] will for sure bring changes in the military balance in the region between North Korea and South Korea," he said.
Budanov also expressed concern that the drones would be assembled in North Korea and returned to Russia to use against Ukraine.
Previous weapons supplied by Russia to North Korea have been a massive failure, Budanov noted.
Half of the batch of KN-23 short-range ballistic missiles, also called Hwasong-11, sent to North Korea either went off course or exploded midair, according to internal reports from Ukraine.
However, Russia has addressed these issues and now the drones are striking with "deadly accuracy," he said.
He also explained that the alliance has included Pyongyang sending a slew of weapons to Moscow, including older weapons like 122mm D-74 howitzers and 107mm infantry MLRS and stronger ones like 240mm MLRS and the 170mm M1989 Koksan self-propelled guns, which he said is "firing from quite a long-range, and it’s quite good in terms of accuracy.”
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Budanov warned that North Korea is likely to increase the presence of troops in Ukraine for purported civilian labor purposes. Currently, he estimates that 11,000 North Korean troops are stationed in Kursk Oblast.
The "labor migrants" deal was struck after Russian Security Council Secretary Sergei Shoigu recently visited North Korea to replace Central Asian workers that Moscow fears are prone to compromisation with Ukrainian and Western intelligence forces.
Describing the North Korean troops, he said, "It wouldn’t be the warriors from North Korea. It would be Russian warriors, but of North Korean nationality.”
