North Korean rockets are proving to be a huge source of embarrassment to Vladimir Putin and his generals.
Last year the Kremlin tyrant struck an arms deal with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, in a desperate attempt to boost his stock of weapons.
With the Russian army burning through its munitions and its military-industrial complex unable to cope with demand for new supplies, Putin was forced to go cap in hand to his old ally in Pyongyang.
In exchange for its weapons, North Korea was promised food and raw materials, as well as support for its space programme.
North Korea is believed to be supplying Moscow with anti-tank and anti-air missiles, artillery and mortar shells, and rifles.
It is also reported to have sent short range ballistic missiles to the Russian army, which have been used in multiple attacks against Ukraine.
However it would appear that Kim has pulled a fast one on Putin, supplying the Kremlin’s army with a whole load of misfiring rockets.
Kyiv has claimed that almost half of the North Korean missiles failed to hit their targets, exploding in mid-flight.
Ukraine has carried out analysis on the debris of 21 of the 50 North Korean missiles fired by Russia between December and February.
Around fifty percent of Kim’s rockets were found to have lost their way and self-destructed.
Andrii Kostin, head of the Prosecutor General’s Office, said: “About half of the North Korean missiles lost their programmed trajectories and exploded in the air.”
Last summer, Ukraine’s army described Pyongyang’s rockets as “very unreliable” and said they kept “doing crazy things”.
They added it wasn’t unusual for them to misfire and explode. Yuriy Belousov, head of war crimes, also noted in March that Kim’s ballistic missiles were “very low” quality with an accuracy rate of around 20 percent.
Russia is believed to be using North Korean Hwasong-11 missiles, which include the KN-23 and KN-24.
The KN-24 resembles the US Army Tactical Missile System (ATACMS) and is designed to evade missile defences by flying on a flatter trajectory than traditional ballistic missiles.
South Korean officials said in February that Pyogyang has sent about 6,700 containers carrying millions of munitions to Russia since September.
