Russia Reportedly Receives North Korea’s Hwasong-11C Ballistic Missiles

Russia Reportedly Receives North Korea’s Hwasong-11C Ballistic Missiles

Russia has reportedly received its first shipment of North Korea’s Hwasong-11C ballistic missiles, also designated KN-30, according to Ukrainian military intelligence.

The Hwasong-11C is a heavier development of North Korea’s Hwasong-11 missile family, which includes the KN-23 series. The system is designed as a short-range ballistic missile and is assessed to have a range of up to around 900 kilometers.

North Korea has claimed that the missile can carry a 2.5-ton warhead, significantly heavier than earlier variants. However, the claimed payload has not been independently verified, and previous international assessments have questioned whether the full 2.5-ton figure refers solely to the warhead.

According to Ukrainian assessments, the newly supplied missiles could expand Russia’s ability to conduct strikes against targets deep inside Ukraine. Reports indicate that Russia has previously used North Korean KN-23 and KN-24 ballistic missiles, but the reported arrival of the Hwasong-11C would represent a new and heavier system in Russian service

The development would further deepen military cooperation between Moscow and Pyongyang, with North Korean ballistic missiles increasingly becoming part of Russia’s long-range strike inventory.

However, Russia has not publicly confirmed the reported delivery, meaning the transfer should currently be treated as a Ukrainian intelligence claim rather than an independently verified fact.