According to Japan’s Ministry of Defense, North Korea recently conducted tests of its KN-23 missiles. During the tests, the first missile traveled 440 kilometers, reaching an altitude of 60 kilometers, while the second missile covered 590 kilometers and ascended to 70 kilometers. Both missiles landed outside Japan’s exclusive economic zone.
Previous flight tests of the KN-23 have shown a flight range of up to 690 kilometers, maintaining low-altitude trajectories between 37 and 60 kilometers, as noted in reports.
The Ukrainian military outlet Defense Express observed that the launch height of 70 kilometers is unusual but not unprecedented. They recalled that last month, North Korea launched a variant of the KN-23 that reached a height of 90 kilometers over a distance of 690 kilometers.
Defense Express speculates that these high-altitude launch experiments may be aimed at enhancing the missile’s ability to evade Patriot air defense systems in potential target nations allied with Russia.
Furthermore, it has been pointed out that North Korea produces only the metal for its ballistic missiles, while other components, technologies, and even blueprints have been directly obtained from Russia. This situation has led to the perception that North Korea’s military-industrial complex often functions as a “subsidiary” of the Russian military-industrial sector.
Context
- Russia began using North Korean KN-23 and KN-24 missiles to attack Ukraine in late 2023.
- In late August 2026, Ukrainian intelligence warned that Moscow had requested new North Korean KN-30 ballistic missiles, which are three times more powerful than the KN-23/24.
