Ukraine investigates North Korean missile debris amid fears of Moscow-Pyongyang axis

Reuters: Ukraine investigates North Korean missile debris amid fears of Moscow-Pyongyang axis

About half of the “KN-23” missiles delivered by North Korea (official name “Hwasong-11Ga”, improved “Hwasong-11”) deviated from the initial trajectory and broke up in the air, the Prosecutor General’s Office of Ukraine reported.  According to their data, North Korea supplied Russia with about 50 such ballistic missiles.

💬 The share of North Korean missile strikes in the total number of Russian strikes on Ukraine is a small percentage, but their use has caused alarm from Seoul to Washington, as it could mean the end of almost two decades of consensus among the permanent members of the UN Security Council to prevent Pyongyang from expanding its nuclear and missile  programs

In addition to allowing North Korea to test missiles, Russia has taken steps to make it more difficult for the United Nations to monitor sanctions imposed on Pyongyang in 2006.

🗣 Last month, Russia vetoed a UN Security Council resolution extending the mandate of a UN panel of experts monitoring the implementation of sanctions against North Korea, which mainly relate to nuclear weapons.  The Russian ambassador to the UN said then that international sanctions against Pyongyang are losing their relevance and are detached from reality.

🗣The closure of the panel of experts does not mean the lifting of sanctions, but it deprives the UN of the opportunity to receive updates and information about the sanctions activities of Korea.  A few days before the expiration of its mandate, the commission submitted a report that confirmed for the first time that a North Korean-made ballistic missile, known as the Hwasong-11, hit the Ukrainian city of Kharkiv in violation of UN sanctions.  The 🇰🇵missile deployment and Moscow’s veto highlight how Russia and North Korea have intensified their bilateral relationship.