Debris examined
Missiles from North Korea delivered to Russia apparently contain Western components
Testing a surface-to-sea missile in North Korea. The dictatorship supports Russia with arms deliveries in its war of aggression against Ukraine
© KCNA via KNS/AP/DPA
Rockets hit Ukraine, fired by Russians, built in North Korea – with components from Germany? Very possible. At least that’s what the analysis of debris suggests.
Accordingly, the rocket contained 290 electronic parts that did not come from the East Asian country. Many of them could therefore be assigned to companies headquartered in the USA, but also in Germany and other countries.
Deliveries for Russia: North Korea is apparently circumventing sanctions when building missiles
A large proportion of the components also had a date and were produced in the past three years, it said. This could mean that the weapon only reached Russia after the Russian attack on Ukraine began in February 2022.
This shows that North Korea is managing to circumvent UN sanctions against the country for ballistic missile components, the report continued. At the same time, it is also an indication of how much the country is dependent on imports from abroad.
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According to the report, it is primarily about parts that were installed in the rocket’s navigation system. In addition to the USA and Germany, parts from Singapore, Japan, Switzerland, China, the Netherlands and Taiwan were also found.
The London-based organization Conflict Armament Research, whose work is partly funded by the EU, examines weapon systems in war zones for the supply chains that used to produce them.