North Korea could hand over its M1991 high-powered multiple rocket launchers (LMRSs) to Russia. They are capable of hitting targets at a distance of up to 60 km.
Points of attention
- M1991 missile launchers manufactured by North Korea could have reached Russia and affected its artillery capabilities.
- These rocket launchers can be used to attack civilian objects, which is a serious threat to the safety of citizens.
- It is necessary to strengthen export control over weapons components to make it impossible to re-export them to potentially hostile countries.
What is known about M1991 rocket launchers
As the publication notes, the DPRK probably handed Russia about 100 artillery installations, including self-propelled howitzers M1989 and RSZV M1991.
Analyst David Ax points out that the M1989 howitzers use 170 mm shells weighing 45 kg, which can hit targets at a distance of at least 40 km. In his opinion, the M1991 is a serious reinforcement of Russia's artillery capabilities.
RSZV M1991 are capable of launching 240-mm rockets weighing 187 kg at a distance of up to 60 km, surpassing in terms of characteristics most of the artillery systems used in Ukraine, with the exception of the American HIMARS.
Normally, North Korean M1991s are stored in mountain caches along the Demilitarized Zone between North and South Korea. In case of war, these systems could strike Seoul.
In the case of using the M1991 on the front in Ukraine, they are capable of striking Ukrainian trenches, howitzers and launchers, as well as conducting counter-battery fire. Given the range, these systems can reach Kharkiv, which is located only 40 km from the Russian border, the publication notes.
Russia is shelling Ukraine with North Korean-made missiles with foreign components
According to the GUR, the DPRK transferred to Russia more than 100 units of various types of equipment, including 170-mm self-propelled guns M-1989 and 240-mm RSZV M-1991, 100 units of KN23 missiles and at least 5 million shells.
So, according to the analyst, on January 2, 2024, four people died as a result of a ballistic missile from North Korea hitting a Kyiv high-rise building.
On August 11, 2024, in the Kyiv region, a four-year-old boy and his father were killed by KN-23/KN-24 debris, and three more citizens were injured, said Andrii Kovalenko, head of the Central Police Service
Among the components of the KN23 missile was found a voltage converter with the marking of the British manufacturer "XP Power", which was manufactured in February 2023.
Also, the missiles contain foreign components produced by companies from five countries — China, the United States, Japan, the United Kingdom, and Switzerland.
It is important that Western governments strengthen export controls on weapons components and technology. It is necessary to make it impossible to re-export them to the Russian Federation, Belarus, Iran, and the DPRK.
Unfortunately, the enemy is increasingly using ballistics from the DPRK against civilians, Kovalenko reports.
