A Pentagon intelligence agency has confirmed that Russia is using North Korean missiles in its conflict in Ukraine, based on analysis of missile debris imagery. This conclusion, detailed in an unclassified summary from the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA), follows earlier U.S. claims that Russia acquired ballistic missiles and artillery rounds from North Korea after a summit between Kim Jong Un and Vladimir Putin last September.

The DIA report compared images of North Korean short-range ballistic missiles, shown by North Korean state media, with missile debris found in Ukraine's Kharkiv region in January.

The DIA stated that North Korean missile debris has been discovered throughout Ukraine, affirming their use by Russia in the conflict.

Neither the Russian embassy in Washington nor North Korea's mission to the United Nations responded to requests for comments. Both Moscow and Pyongyang have previously denied any transfer of weapons from North Korea to Russia for use in Ukraine, which Russia invaded in February 2022.

In May, Ukrainian state prosecutors reported examining debris from 21 of the roughly 50 North Korean ballistic missiles launched by Russia between late December and late February, as part of their efforts to evaluate the threat posed by Russia's collaboration with North Korea.

Although North Korean missiles represent a small fraction of Russia's strikes in Ukraine, their use has raised concerns from Seoul to Washington.

This situation could signal the end of a long-standing consensus among U.N. Security Council members to prevent North Korea from expanding its nuclear and ballistic missile capabilities.

Russia's actions have also hindered the U.N.'s ability to monitor sanctions on North Korea, which were imposed in 2006.

In April, Russia vetoed the renewal of the U.N. sanctions monitors' mandate, which had overseen the enforcement of sanctions on North Korea for 15 years.

Just before their mandate expired, the panel confirmed that a North Korean-made ballistic missile, the Hwasong-11, had hit Kharkiv, violating U.N. sanctions.