North Korea Likely Transferred KN-15 Missile Systems to Russia

21 December, 2024 Pukguksong-2 missile system. Photo credits: NK News North Korea (DPRK) has likely transferred KN-15 (Pukguksong-2) missile systems to Russia.

This is reported by Militarnyi with reference to a video posted on the Telegram channel "Tanks. History and Modernity. Btvt.info", hosted by armored vehicles researcher Andriy Tarasenko.

This missile system is a medium-range ballistic missile carrier. The published video, allegedly filmed in the Tyumen region, shows a train with freight cars, platforms with excavators, and ten Koksan self-propelled artillery systems. But the most mysterious cargo is five tracked vehicles with a cylindrical top:

Tracked vehicles on a railroad platform with cylindrical parts on top

Due to the quality of the video, it is difficult to say what kind of vehicles these are, but when compared to photos of North Korean missile systems available online, there is a striking resemblance to Pukguksong-2:

Pukguksong-2 missile system.

Photo credits: NK News

The first test flight of the Pukguksong-2 (KN-15) took place on February 12, 2017. On April 15 of the same year, it was displayed for the first time at a military parade in Pyongyang. The maximum range of a ballistic missile from the Pukguksong-2 complex is not known.

Western analysts put it at about 2,000 kilometers. During the first launch, the South Korean military recorded that the missile reached an altitude of 550 km (340 miles) and flew a distance of about 500 km, falling down off the eastern coast in the direction of Japan.

Pukguksong-2 (KN-15). KCNA news agency of North Korea

The full video is available online:

As there are no known systems of any purpose with a similar design in service with the Russian army today, it is highly likely that this is the North Korean Pukguksong-2.

???????? ???????? Pukguksong-2 ????: STR/AFP/Getty Images

You can learn more about the development of North Korean missile systems in the article "North Korea's Missile Program with Russian Support: A New Threat to the United States and Its Allies (Part 1)".

Russia already operates North Korean KN-11 (Hwasong-11) short-range ballistic missile systems, which, according to confirmed information, have been used by the invaders since January 2, 2024.