Ukraine records nearly 50 North Korean missile launches by Russia

That’s according to Oleksandr Filchakov, head of the Kharkiv Regional Prosecutor's Office, who spoke at a press conference Thursday, an Ukrinform correspondent reports.

"In our region, one case of Russia using North Korea’s KN-23, or Hwasong 11, missile has been officially documented. We received relevant conclusions from both national and international experts, who confirmed that on January 2, this type of missile hit the area at 1 Nezalezhnosti Avenue. In addition, we have two more cases where our military experts spoke of such missiles being used, in particular on February 7 in the Slobidskyi district. We are waiting for the results of the examination, after which we will be able to confirm this formally. In total, about 50 cases were recorded on the territory of Ukraine where Russia launched North Korean missiles," said Filchakov.

He added that six regions had been affected.

"They are of low quality, made of low quality metal. (…) The missile has an imperfect control system. The flight range is about 700 km, much more than that of Iskander, which is 250 km. There are many cases where this missile explodes midair," Filchakov noted.

As reported, Kharkiv experts studied the surviving tail part of the missile, which Russia is believed to have received from the DPRK: visually it is similar to the Iskander, but some technical differences are obvious.

According to Serhiy Bolvinov, head of the Investigative Department at the State Police Department in Kharkiv region, Ukrainian experts have learned to identify North Korean missiles.