Russia asks North Korea for new ballistic missiles, according to Main Intelligence Directorate

Andriy Chernyak, a spokesperson for the Main Intelligence Directorate, made this statement in a comment to Liga.net.

Russia’s Cooperation with North Korea

According to Chernyak, Moscow has approached Pyongyang to acquire new KN-30 ballistic missiles. Ukrainian intelligence estimates that these missiles are approximately three times more powerful than the KN-23/24.

The Kremlin is also requesting 120 ballistic missiles from North Korea, 6 launchers, a missile unit consisting of up to 90 soldiers, and a North Korean military contingent of between 30,000 and 50,000 servicemembers.

It is currently unknown exactly where Russia plans to deploy the North Korean military contingent. The final scope of North Korea’s military aid to Russia may be determined during talks between Vladimir Putin and Kim Jong Un in September.

Chernyak noted that Moscow has already received 40 KN-23/24 missiles from the requested batch. Russian troops have already used two of them during one of the recent attacks on Ukraine.

It should be noted that, as of now, Ukrainian intelligence has not documented any transfer of KN-30 missiles to Russia.

The Origin of Components for Russian "Iskander-M" Missiles

At the same time, the Main Intelligence Directorate (GUR) has released new data on the production of Russian “Iskander-M” missiles—140 components, dozens of enterprises, and over a hundred individuals involved in production.

In total, the portal contains data on more than 170 components, 82 Russian and 2 Belarusian enterprises, 108 key employees and officials, as well as 121 units of foreign technological equipment.

According to the GUR, a significant portion of the “Iskander-M” components are still of foreign origin. Of the 140 components for which information was released for the first time, only about a quarter are manufactured in Russia.

Most of the components are manufactured in the United States (63). Others are of Swiss origin (8), Belarusian (8), German (4), Taiwanese (4), and Chinese (3).

Russia is modernizing its ballistic missiles

The Main Intelligence Directorate (GUR) also reported that this summer, during one of the combined strikes on Kyiv, Russia used the upgraded 9M723-2 missile—known by the codename “Iskander-1000”—for the first time.

According to intelligence reports, the missile is part of the “Bora-M” system. Thanks to its more powerful engine and launch system, its claimed range can reach up to 550 km, compared to about 390 km for the 9M723-1 version.

As a reminder, the General Staff confirmed the destruction of Russian command posts near Donetsk. On August 26 and during the night of August 27, 2026, the Ukrainian Defense Forces struck the enemy’s main and backup command posts near Donetsk.