North Korea transferred a new type of ballistic missiles to Russia - data from HUR

North Korean KN-30 ballistic missiles have appeared in Russia's arsenal, the transfer of which to Moscow was not previously publicly reported. These missiles may be used for strikes on Ukraine.

The presence of KN-30 in Russia is indicated by data from the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine, provided in response to a request from "Ukrainska Pravda".

According to HUR, as of July 2026, Russia had about 50 North Korean ballistic missiles of the KN-23 series, among which there are also KN-24 and KN-30. The exact number of missiles of each of these types was not named by intelligence.

It was previously known about the transfer to Russia and use against Ukraine of North Korean KN-23 and KN-24 missiles. At the same time, the supply of KN-30 or their use in the war had not been reported before.

KN-30 is the Western designation for the North Korean ballistic missile Hwasong-11C, also known as Hwasong-11Da. It is an enlarged version of the Hwasong-11 family of missiles and belongs to short-range ballistic missiles.

The missile is equipped with a solid-propellant engine and is launched from a mobile ground launcher. During the first known test in March 2021, it demonstrated a range of at least 600 km.

North Korea claimed that the KN-30 is capable of carrying a warhead weighing up to 2.5 tons, but there is no independent confirmation of this characteristic.

The presence of a new type of North Korean ballistic missile in the Russian arsenal became known against the backdrop of further deepening of military cooperation between Moscow and Pyongyang. In early August, HUR representative Andriy Chernyak reported on the deployment in Voronezh Oblast of Russia of a North Korean missile unit with six launchers and 120 ballistic missiles. It was not specified then which missile types were designated for this unit.

Earlier, "Kurs Ukrainy" reported on the HUR-assessed stockpiles of Russian missiles. In particular, as of early August, Russia had about 130 9M723 missiles for Iskander-M complexes, more than 600 Oniks, more than 450 Kalibr, more than 120 Tsirkon, and up to 100 Kh-101 missiles. However, information about the presence of KN-30 in the Russian arsenal was not detailed separately at that time.

According to materials: Ukrainska Pravda, Militarnyi