“According to the Financial Times, North Korea sent about 50 M1989 “Koksan” self-propelled artillery units and 20 rocket launchers to Russia, some of which were dropped in the Kursk region.”, — write: www.pravda.com.ua
According to the Financial Times, North Korea sent about 50 M1989 “Koksan” self-propelled artillery units and 20 rocket launchers to Russia, some of which were dropped in the Kursk region.
Source: Financial Times with reference to Ukrainian intelligence data
Details: As the publication writes with reference to a Ukrainian intelligence report handed over to it, in recent weeks, North Korea has provided Russia with about 50 North Korean-made M1989 170-mm self-propelled guns and 20 updated 240-mm multiple rocket launchers that can fire both conventional and guided missiles.
Ukrainian officials are said to have provided information about the weapons after a photo of North Korean howitzers began circulating on social media this week. The photo, which open-source analysts were able to geographically tie to the Krasnoyarsk region in central Russia, showed several howitzers covered in camouflage netting being transported by rail to the west.
These heavy weapons systems can fire projectiles at a distance of up to 60 km. The M1989 howitzers, produced in 1989, are slightly upgraded versions of the original M1979 models first produced in the late 1970s, which Pyongyang supplied to Tehran during the Iran-Iraq War.
The modernized missile system is based on the Soviet BM-27 “Hurricane” system – a self-propelled 220-mm multiple rocket launcher designed to deliver cluster munitions. In May, North Korea said it had successfully tested an upgraded system with high-precision munition guidance.
A senior Ukrainian official told the FT that Pyongyang now wants to test the weapon in combat. Kyiv expects that it will be used against Ukrainian forces, which currently hold about 600 sq. km of territory in the Kursk region of Russia.
What preceded: In a November 14 report, the Institute for the Study of War reported, citing Russian sources, that North Korea may have provided Russia with North Korean-made M1989 Koksan 170mm self-propelled artillery systems. Russian bloggers have published photos showing a train allegedly carrying North Korean M1989 Koksan 170mm self-propelled artillery systems in Krasnoyarsk.