UN specialists claim North Korean missile touched down near Kharkiv, Ukraine

The parts from a missile that landed in the Ukrainian city of Kharkiv on Jan. 2 were from a North Korean Hwasong-11 series ballistic missile, according to a report by United Nations sanctions monitors to a Security Council committee. This was seen by Reuters on Monday.

The UN says they found pieces of a missile in Ukraine that came from North Korea, breaking the rules about weapons.

North Korea, also called the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK), has been punished by the UN since 2006 for its missile and nuclear projects, and the punishments have gotten tougher over time.

Three people went to Ukraine to check the debris and they didn’t find any proof that Russia made the missile. They couldn’t figure out where the missile came from or who launched it on their own.

Ukrainian authorities said that the missile was launched from Russia. They wrote this in a report to the Security Council’s North Korea sanctions committee on April 25th.

They said that if the missile was in a place controlled by Russia, it would probably mean that people from Russia bought it. This would break the rule that stops North Korea from getting weapons, which was made in 2006.

The Russian and North Korean representatives at the United Nations in New York did not give a response to a request for their thoughts on the report by the sanctions monitors.

The US and other countries say North Korea gave weapons to Russia to use against Ukraine, which Russia invaded in February 2022. Both Moscow and Pyongyang have said they didn’t do it, but they promised to make their military relationship stronger last year.

In February, the US said that Russia used missiles from North Korea to attack Ukraine many times.

The UN people who watch over things said that North Korea tested the Hwasong-11 series missiles in 2019.

Russia said no to renewing the UN sanctions monitors that have been keeping an eye on North Korea’s nuclear and missile programs for 15 years. The current group of experts will have to stop working on Tuesday.

Within a few days of January, The Kharkiv region prosecutor’s office showed parts of a missile to the media after an attack. They said the missile was not from Russia and it might have been given to them by North Korea.