According to Reuters, a North Korean Hwasong-11 series ballistic missile landed in Kharkiv, Ukraine, on January 2.
“Debris recovered from a missile that landed in Kharkiv, Ukraine, on January 2, 2024, derives from a DPRK Hwasong-11 series missile,” the UN sanctions monitor said in its 32-page assessment, adding that it violates the North Korean arms embargo.
The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK), sometimes known as North Korea, has been sanctioned by the United Nations since 2006 for its ballistic missile and nuclear programmes, which have grown in power over time.
Three sanctions monitors visited Ukraine last month to examine the debris and discovered no evidence that Russia manufactured the missile. According to reports, the authorities “could not independently identify where the missile was launched, nor by whom.”
“Information on the trajectory provided by Ukrainian authorities indicates it was launched within the territory of the Russian Federation,” according to a report published on April 25 by Reuters.
“Such a location, if the missile were under the control of Russian forces, would probably indicate procurement by nationals of the Russian Federation,” they went on to say.
According to UN monitors, the DPRK conducted its first public tests of the Hwasong-11 series ballistic missiles in 2019.
