Washington, Jan 5 (IANS): A White House official has said that North Korea recently provided Russia with several ballistic missiles and launchers which were used in the repeated waves of aerial attacks against Ukraine.
Addressing a press briefing on Thursday, White House National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby said that as Moscow continues to "launch these brutal attacks", the US has "new information to share about the support that Russia is receiving from third countries".
"Due in part to our sanctions and export controls, Russia has become increasingly isolated on the world stage and they’ve been forced to look to likeminded states for military equipment. As we’ve been warning publicly, one of those states is North Korea," Kirby said.
The spokesperson said that on December 30, 2023, Russian forces launched at least one of these North Korean ballistic missiles into Ukraine.
The missile appeared to have landed in an open field in the Zaporizhzhia region, he claimed.
Kirby further said on January 2, Russia launched multiple North Korean ballistic missiles into Ukraine, including as part of its overnight aerial attack.
"We’re still assessing the impacts of these additional missiles."
The North Korean ballistic missiles are capable of ranges of approximately 900 km.
The White House official also warned the US anticipates that "Russia will use additional North Korean missiles to target Ukraine’s civilian infrastructure and to kill innocent Ukrainian civilians".
"This is a significant and concerning escalation in the DPRK’s support for Russia," he said referring to North Korea by its official name, Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK).
Kirby went on to say that North Korea is likely seeking military assistance from Russia in return for its support.
The assistance include "fighter aircraft, surface-to-air missiles, armoured vehicles, ballistic missile production equipment or materials, and other advanced technologies", he said, adding that this will have "concerning security implications for the Korean Peninsula and the Indo-Pacific region".
The White House official also said the US believed Russia is seeking to acquire close-range ballistic missiles from Iran.
However, "we do not believe that Iran has delivered close-range ballistic missiles to Russia".