As reports surface of Russia and Ukraine striking each other with missiles, concerns have also grown about North Korean troops' support for Moscow in the war. On Friday, South Korea's National Security Adviser Shin Won-sik said in exchange for military assistance, President Vladimir Putin has supplied Pyongyang with air-defense equipment and anti-air missiles.
"North Korea appears to have received equipment and antiaircraft missiles to bolster its weak air defense in Pyongyang," Shin said in an interview with SBS. He also added that the deal reportedly included economic aid and access to Russian military spy satellite technology.
According to two South Korean lawmakers, citing a briefing from Seoul's intelligence agency, nearly 11,000 North Korean soldiers have been sent to Russia's Kursk region, with some already engaged in combat against Ukrainian forces. However, the exact number of troops is yet to be confirmed.
On Thursday, Ukraine claimed that Russia had launched an ICBM missile targeting Dnipro. However, no confirmation was made by Russia. Later, Putin said that they had fired a "ballistic missile with a non-nuclear hypersonic warhead" with a medium range. In a stark warning, Putin said that the missile was fired in response to Ukraine's use of US and British-French long-range weapons. "Our missilemen called it 'Oreshnik,'" he added, claiming Ukraine has "no means" to counter the new "Oreshnik" missiles.
Russia informed the United States about its missile launch in advance through the National Nuclear Risk Reduction Center, according to statements from both the Kremlin and the Pentagon.
"The warning was sent in a standing automatic mode 30 minutes before the launch," Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said, according to CNN.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky condemned Russia's deployment of a new ballistic missile, calling it "a clear and severe escalation in the scale and brutality of this war." Ukraine's foreign ministry added that Kyiv has "the full right under international law to target any legitimate military objectives within Russian territory" using long-range missiles.
Meanwhile, the United Nations described Russia's use of the weapon as "another concerning and worrying development."
