SEOUL, South Korea — With joint South Korean-U.S. war drills underway in the South, North Korea test-fired two new air-defense missiles on Sunday, days after national leader Kim Jong-un oversaw a ceremony honoring troops killed while fighting for Russia against Ukraine.
The developments in the North offer potential new information on Russian aid to North Korea, and also on Pyongyang’s casualties in Ukraine.
South Korean and U.S. forces are set to wrap up their annual summer drills Thursday.
North Korea frequently responds to the joint drills with missile tests, though today’s air-defense missiles are small fry compared to some ballistic missile tests fired in past years.
The government of President Lee Jae-myung, inaugurated in Seoul in June, has repeatedly announced its hopes of improving cross-border relations.
The missile type was not detailed in North Korean state media reports. Images released showed Mr. Kim surrounded by officers, a rocket streaking skyward, and airborne explosions, indicating likely obliteration of a target.
Neither launchers nor close-ups of the missiles were shown.
It is possible the weapons are Russian, offered as part payment for North Korea’s deployment of troops to fight alongside Russian soldiers against Ukraine.
The Multilateral Sanctions Monitoring Team, a group of 11 countries including Japan, South Korea and the U.S., reported in May that Russia had provided North Korea with air defense systems.
In June, the Pentagon’s Defense Intelligence Agency claimed Russia had sent Pantsir air defense systems to North Korea. In July, Ukrainian intelligence claimed that Pantsirs were established in Pyongyang.
Pantsir is a short-medium range, mobile air defense system packaging missile launchers, 30mm automatic cannons, radars, thermal imagers and a command post. It can target helicopters, aircraft, drones and cruise missiles.
North Korean support for Russia in Kursk — Pyongyang’s first large-scale combat deployment since the Korean War ended in 1953 — gave an estimated 11,000 to 13,000 troops a crash course in modern warfare.
First identified in Russia last October, they subsequently engaged in Kursk, joining Russian troops battling a Ukrainian incursion.
Only in April, the month Russia claimed it had recaptured Kursk, did Pyongyang state media confirm their deployment.
After heavy early losses, they gained the grudging respect of Ukrainian opponents for their cohesion, marksmanship, fitness and refusal to be captured alive.
North Korea’s armory also gained improvements. Its short-range ballistic missiles, widely used by Russian forces, have, Ukrainian sources report, seen upgrades in accuracy, suggesting Russian improvements to guidance systems.
In addition to military tech, Russian foodstuffs have been spotted inside North Korea, and it is believed energy aid may have been sent.
Mr. Kim’s soldiers paid a stern price for his country’s alliance with Russia — a price on display in a ceremony in Pyongyang covered by state media on Friday.
It was attended by Mr. Kim, veterans, and grieving families who had lost loved ones.
Images and footage showed a teary Mr. Kim embracing emotive widows and soldiers. He decorated soldiers, and knelt in front of memorial photographs of soldiers killed in action.
His “heart ached” at the losses, he said.
Experts say Pyongyang officialdom is highly skilled at managing emotive military ceremonials.
Since the recapture of Kursk, North Korean troops have not been identified conducting further combat operations on Ukrainian soil.
