North Korea Likely Delivered KN-15 Ballistic Missile Systems to Russia

On December 21, 2024, new information emerged suggesting that North Korea (DPRK) may have delivered KN-15 Ballistic missile systems, also known as Pukguksong-2, to Russia. This was reported by Militarnyi.

The KN-15 is a medium-range ballistic missile system, and the video in question reportedly shows a train convoy in Tyumen region, Russia. The footage reveals several cargo wagons, platforms with excavators, and ten self-propelled Koksan artillery pieces.

However, the most intriguing aspect of the footage is five tracked vehicles with cylindrical structures on top, which resemble the Pukguksong-2 missile system.

The quality of the video makes it difficult to identify the exact nature of these vehicles, but the visual similarity to known images of the Pukguksong-2, which was first test-launched by North Korea in February 2017, is striking.

The missile system is known to have a reported range of approximately 2,000 km, although exact details remain unclear. The system’s initial test flight reached an altitude of 550 km and covered a distance of around 500 km, landing off the eastern coast of North Korea.

Earlier, the Main Intelligence Directorate of Ukraine reported that over 100 North Korean artillery systems and an equal number of short-range ballistic missiles, including KN-23/24 types, have been delivered to Russia.

The transfer includes 170mm self-propelled artillery systems (M-1989) and 240mm multiple launch rocket systems (M-1991). Additionally, shipments of large-caliber artillery shells and missiles continue, with over 60 units of the M-1989 Koksan artillery likely sent for training at the Saratov Higher Military Command and Engineering School of Missile Troops.