In the darkness of the Russian Ukrainian battlefield, a precise strike on the energy lifeline suddenly broke out. Seven Iskander-M and North Korean KN-23 ballistic missiles led the defense, 381 drones formed a "bee group", and Ukraine's electricity and gas networks were paralyzed in a row of strikes.

The Kramatorsk thermal power plant was completely paralyzed after three explosions - the "charger" that supplied power to Ukrainian drones, radar and other equipment, was torn into ruins under the attack of North Korean KN-23 missiles.A Russian military commander on the Donbass front lamented on the communication channel: "They are too fast, there is hardly any early warning time."

This is an abbreviation of North Korean missiles on the battlefield in Ukraine.Since 2025, these missiles from the East are changing the pattern of the battlefield with amazing efficiency.

Battlefield performance: from ¡°half hanging¡± to ¡°precision killer¡±

In May 2024, Ukrainian military intelligence reports showed that of the 50 North Korean-made Mars-11 ballistic missiles used by Russia, about half exploded out of control during the flight.

At that time, the Ukraine military analyzed that North Korea's missile electronic countermeasures capabilities were poor, key materials were insufficient, and maintenance could not keep up.

However, in less than a year, North Korea's missiles have achieved a transformation from "unreliable" to "uninterceptable". In April 2025, a North Korean KN-23 missile hit a residential building in Kyiv's Svyatoshinsky district, killing 12 people and injuring 90 others. Ukrainian President Zelensky had to confirm the news on the X platform and angrily denounced Pyongyang as being to blame.

The most notable was the action on February 23, 2025. The Russian army launched the largest joint strike since the conflict. It first used 267 drones as decoys to consume the Ukrainian army's air defense resources, and then launched precision-guided weapons including North Korea's KN-23.

142 strategic targets were precisely hit, and the command center of the Ukrainian army was directly hit by three missiles, at least one of which was a North Korean-made KN-23 missile.

The answer lies in Russian technical feedback.The head of Ukrainian intelligence, Budanov, revealed that Russian experts have improved the KN-23 missile, raising its accuracy from the original error of 500-1500 meters to an extremely high level.

Initially, the precision of the North Korean missile could only be used for area target strikes, and after systematic improvements by Russian military and industrial experts, the precision of the KN-23 missile has been raised to 50 meters, realizing the quality of tactical precision strike capabilities.

The power system has also been upgraded.KN-23 missiles have railway mobility capabilities and have demonstrated high-mobility characteristics of "slang-shaped walking" and "death gymnastics" at the Great Air Attack in Kiev. These missiles can perform intermediate deviation movements during the flight, making it difficult for enemy anti-missile systems to predict and intercept.

A Ukrainian air force official acknowledged: ¡°High-speed hypersonic missiles have a stronger maneuverability than ordinary ballistic missiles and a stronger breakthrough to existing missile defense systems.¡±

Quantitative advantage: Millions of cannon and missile saturation attacks

North Korea's aid to Russia is far more than missiles, according to Ukrainian military estimates, North Korea has supplied to Russia. 148öKN-23ºÍKN-24 ballistic missiles¡£

But more critically is the shell support. Since September 2023, North Korea has sent more than 64 ocean shipments to Russia, an investigation has found 4 million artillery shells¡£ The supplies were transported by a special fleet and involved nearly 16,000 containers.

Ukrainian military experts pointed out that North Korea's contribution occupied the ammunition used by Russian artillery forces. 70%Without these ammunition, Russia¡¯s enduring warfare capabilities would be greatly reduced.

¡°North Korea¡¯s contribution is of strategic importance,¡± said Hugh Griffith, a former coordinator of the UN panel of experts on North Korea sanctions, ¡°without the support of Chairman Kim Jong Un, President Putin may not be able to continue the war in Ukraine.¡±

In April 2025, North Korea officially confirmed for the first time that it had sent troops to Russia to participate in the battle to recover the Kursk region. South Korea's National Intelligence Service reported earlier that North Korea decided to send four brigade-sized special operations troops to Russia, with a size of approximately 12000 people.

These North Korean soldiers are known for their strict discipline and stubborn combat style.Kim Dae-yong, a researcher at the South Korean National Institute of Strategic Research, analyzed that the single-soldate combat capabilities of the North Korean Special Operations Forces are more than twice the capacity of ordinary infantry, and can also operate heavy weapons such as anti-tank missiles.

Ukrainian officials estimate that about 4,000 North Korean soldiers were killed or captured in the battle, accounting for one-third of the initial deployment.

But North Korea does not seem to be deterred. In early 2025, the North Korean military said it planned to send more troops to Russia. South Korean intelligence shows that another 3000 North Korean soldiers will be deployed in the "Buryatia Special Forces" within the 11th Airborne Brigade of The Russian Federation.

The Deep Significance of the Russian-Russian Comprehensive Strategic Partnership Treaty

On June 19, 2024, Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un signed a treaty in Pyongyang. Comprehensive Strategic Partnership TreatyArticle 4 of the treaty stipulates that if one party is under armed attack and in a state of war, the other party will provide military and other assistance.

After this treaty officially came into effect on December 4, 2024, it provided a legal basis for North Korea to send troops. On April 26, 2025, when Chief of Staff of the Russian Armed Forces Gerasimov reported to Putin, he particularly thanked the North Korean soldiers for their help in the Battle of Kursk.

North Korea exchanged Russia¡¯s energy supplies and food aid with troops, which would undoubtedly be a shipment of coal to North Korea, which has long been subject to sanctions.

The Russia-DPRK alliance also goes beyond the scope of bilateral relations. On August 12, 2025, Putin and Kim Jong Un had a telephone conversation. The two sides confirmed the further development of friendly, good-neighborly and cooperative relations in various fields based on the Treaty of Comprehensive Strategic Partnership. This alliance is gradually forming a new power pole to compete with the western system.

The success of North Korea's missiles in Ukraine has aroused great concern in the West. NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte said that although it was impossible to confirm whether North Korean soldiers were involved in actual combat, North Korea was indeed supporting Russians in many ways.

The U.S. Department of Defense is cautious, saying that it cannot confirm the report that North Korea sent troops.

What worries the West is the cycle of technical feedback.Ukrainian military intelligence assessment believes that North Korea has gone through the war. Increased nuclear and conventional military capabilities.¡£The Russia-Ukraine battlefield has become a testing ground for North Korea's missiles, and actual combat data has helped North Korea improve its weapon system.

Analyses have shown that advances in North Korean missile technology may have prompted South Korea to consider developing an independent nuclear deterrent force.An international analyst noted that ¡°a very fierce discussion is taking place at the top of the government.¡±

The regional security landscape may face restructuring. As North Korea withdraws its experienced troops to the Korean Peninsula, the security balance in Northeast Asia may be upset. North Korea's experience gained on the Ukrainian battlefield will directly enhance its military capabilities on the peninsula.

As North Korea's missile performance on the battlefield in Ukraine becomes increasingly eye-catching, the security landscape of the entire East Asia is also quietly changing. There are heated discussions within the governments of South Korea and Japan whether to develop independent nuclear deterrence forces to deal with this new threat.

The order given by North Korean leader Kim Jong-un during his inspection of special operations forces-"ruthless cleanup of emergencies" has now been verified on the battlefield in Ukraine.