Russia is attacking Ukraine with North Korean ballistic missiles, U.S. says

U.S. intelligence found that Russia is also seeking close-range ballistic missiles from Iran after acquiring ballistic missile launchers and several missiles from North Korea.

U.S. intelligence officials have determined that Russia has acquired ballistic missiles from North Korea and is seeking close-range ballistic missiles from Iran as Moscow struggles to replenish supplies for its war with Ukraine, the White House said Thursday.

Recently declassified intelligence found that North Korea has provided Russia with ballistic missile launchers and several ballistic missiles, National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said. Russian forces fired at least one of those ballistic missiles into Ukraine on Dec. 30 and it landed in an open field in the Zaporizhzhia region, he said.

Russia launched multiple North Korean ballistic missiles on Tuesday as part of an overnight attack, and the U.S. was assessing the impact, he said. The missiles have a range of about 550 miles (885 kilometers).

U.S. intelligence officials believe that North Korea, in return for its arms support, wants Russia to provide it with aircraft, surface-to-air missiles, armored vehicles, ballistic missile production equipment and other advanced technologies.

Kirby said that a Russia-Iran deal had not been completed but that the U.S. “is concerned that Russia’s negotiations to acquire close range ballistic missiles from Iran are actively advancing.”

The U.S. intelligence finding supports South Korea’s assessment that North Korea has increased its cooperation with Moscow. South Korea’s military said in November that it suspected North Korea had sent an unspecified number of short-range ballistic missiles, anti-tank missiles and portable anti-air missiles to Russia, in addition to rifles, rocket launchers, mortars and shells.

The Biden administration has repeatedly sought to make the case that the Kremlin has become reliant on North Korea, as well as Iran, for the arms it needs to fight its war against Ukraine and has disclosed intelligence findings that it says show as much.

North Korea and Iran are largely isolated on the international stage for their nuclear programs and human rights records.