[Yang Nak-gyu's Defence Club] US Issues Warning on North Korea's Ballistic Missile Development... Why?

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Yang Nak-gyu, Military Specialist Reporter] The United States has issued a joint departmental advisory to curb North Korea's ballistic missile development, drawing attention to the background of this move.

According to foreign media on the 1st, the U.S. Department of State's International Security and Nonproliferation Bureau (ISN), the Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), and the Commerce Department's Bureau of Industry and Security jointly released a 19-page document issuing an advisory on North Korea's procurement activities related to ballistic missiles.

The document details North Korean agencies involved in ballistic missile development and procurement of parts and technology, as well as methods used by the international community to evade sanctions against North Korea. It also introduces penalties and prohibited transaction items that companies may face if they violate these sanctions, whether intentionally or accidentally. Although the U.S. did not announce new regulations, this highly unusual advisory is viewed as significant both in timing and content.

In September last year, the UN Panel of Experts on North Korea Sanctions reported to the Security Council that "North Korea is not conducting intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) launches but continues to strengthen its nuclear and missile programs through short-range missile launches." According to the report submitted by the North Korea Sanctions Committee to the Security Council at that time, North Korea continues to violate sanctions ranging from illegal ship-to-ship transfers of coal and oil at sea to procurement of materials related to weapons of mass destruction (WMD) components and prohibited luxury goods. The report particularly noted that these cyberattacks are conducted under the command of North Korea's Reconnaissance General Bureau, and so far, approximately $2 billion (2.4 trillion KRW) has been funneled into North Korea through cyberattacks to cover costs related to WMD component procurement.

North Korea has utilized technologies held by Russia, Ukraine, and China for ICBM development. After the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991, North Korea recruited many engineers. This included engineers from Russia's Makeyev Design Bureau, whose visits to North Korea were blocked in 1992. These engineers had accumulated know-how on submarine-launched ballistic missiles (SLBMs).

In 2016, North Korea was caught attempting to smuggle out special aramid fiber threads in Vladivostok, Russia's Far East. Aramid is a high-strength fiber material with heat resistance that does not burn or melt even at 500°C and cannot be penetrated by bullets, used in making bulletproof vests. In Russia, it is classified as a dual-use product that can be used for weapons and military equipment manufacturing and is banned from export by presidential decree. Notably, the National Intelligence Service reportedly reported to the National Assembly Intelligence Committee's emergency plenary session in February of that year, shortly after North Korea's long-range rocket launch, that key components of the rocket launched by North Korea appeared to be of Russian origin.

North Korea also collaborated with China to jointly develop the DF-61 ballistic missile with a range of 600 km. Based on this, North Korea utilized Chinese technology. The appearance of the SLBM Pukguksong-1 resembles China's Julang-1, and the Pukguksong-3 is similar to China's Julang-2.

There is also missile technology believed to have been imported from Ukraine. The state-owned space rocket company Yuzhmash, which faced bankruptcy in 2015, is a likely candidate. In 2017, an expert who worked at Yuzhnoye gave an interview to the Ukrainian online media outlet "Strana," stating, "North Korea does not have the money to develop (missiles) on its own," and suggested that "it was much cheaper for them to find unofficial ways to approach Ukraine," implying the possibility of missile technology leakage. Earlier, in June 2012, two employees of North Korea's trade representative office in Belarus were arrested after entering Dnipropetrovsk (Dnipro), a central Ukrainian city, and attempting to recruit Yuzhnoye employees to extract rocket-related technology.

The Yuzhnoye Design Office is a renowned rocket research institute that developed the first nuclear missile during the Soviet era and later created the strategic missile R-36M (NATO codename SS-18 Satan) with a range exceeding 11,000 km in the 1960s and 1970s, which terrified the West. The documents North Korea attempted to extract from Ukraine are known to have included advanced rocket technology related to the R-36M, spacecraft, liquid-fuel rocket engines, and fuel supply systems.

Military experts, based on video footage of North Korea's rocket engine combustion tests in September 2016 and March the following year, estimate that the engine North Korea acquired belongs to the 'RD-250' series previously used by Russia, and that North Korea modified it to equip the medium- to long-range missile 'Hwasong-12' and the ICBM-class 'Hwasong-14' launched in May and July, respectively.

However, Yuzhmash issued a statement asserting, "Whether in space or defense projects, we have never been connected to North Korea's missile (rocket) program," and claimed, "Since Ukraine's independence from the former Soviet Union in 1991, Yuzhmash has never produced military missiles or missile complexes." The company also emphasized, "The only rocket engine produced for export is the RD-843, which is exported to Italy for the European space launch vehicle Vega," adding, "Due to its thrust characteristics, this engine is unsuitable for use in military ballistic missiles."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.