The missile that killed at least eight people in a large-scale Russian air strike on Kiev overnight was a North Korean KN-23 (KN-23A) ballistic missile, a Ukrainian military source told Reuters on Thursday.
The missile hit a residential building in the Svyatoshinsky district, west of central Kiev, the source added. About 10 people were still missing in the morning, with some of them likely buried under the rubble, officials on the scene said.
Russia has not commented directly on the strike. The Kremlin said only that the attack hit "military and military-related" targets. Russia and North Korea deny any arms transfers that would violate UN sanctions.
Military cooperation between Russia and North Korea has intensified sharply since Moscow found itself internationally isolated after its invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
Ukraine claims that North Korea has supplied Russia with large quantities of artillery shells, missile systems, thousands of soldiers, and ballistic missiles, which Moscow began using in strikes on Ukraine in late 2023.
According to Ukrainian military intelligence, by early 2025 Pyongyang has supplied Russia with 148 ballistic missiles of the KN-23 and KN-24 types.
The KN-23 (KN-23A) missiles are equipped with warheads weighing up to one ton - more powerful than their Russian counterparts, the Ukrainian source said.
The Ukrainian military has not publicly disclosed the exact type of missile used. After the attack, Kiev said a total of seven ballistic missiles were fired, identifying them as Iskander-M / KN-23.
North Korea's involvement in the war in Ukraine is causing concern not only in European capitals but also in South Korea and its allies in Asia, who fear that the lessons of the conflict could one day be applied against them.