Russia gifts North Korea ‘battlefield laboratory’ for weapons tests by using its missiles against Ukraine

“I don’t believe that in my recent memory that the North Korean military has had a battlefield laboratory quite like the Russians are affording them to have in Ukraine,” said General Charles Flynn, the US Army Pacific’s commanding general.

Flynn said a great concern for him and others is that North Korea will be able to learn things about their weapons “they would otherwise not have access to absent a conflict” like the war in Ukraine.

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Satellite imagery suggests North Korea is supplying Russia with weapons through Rason port

The North Korean missiles sent so far are similar in size and flight dynamics to Russia’s Iskander series, weapons experts have said. A report last year by the Centre for Strategic and International Studies showed that the US Patriot air-defence system has so far been largely effective in countering Russia’s missiles.

US allies South Korea and Japan both deploy Patriot batteries. These air defence systems have a powerful radar able to track as many as 100 targets including cruise missiles, ballistic missiles and aircraft, according to a report from the Congressional Research Service.