Fired at Ukraine: Swiss components found in North Korean missile

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On January 2, Russia bombed the Ukrainian city of Kharkov, destroying several houses. Experts then examined the debris from the rockets. One of them was a North Korean-made ballistic missile.

According to the organization Conflict Armament Research, the missile contained 290 electronic components that did not come from the East Asian country. Many of them could therefore be assigned to companies headquartered in the US, but also in Germany or Switzerland.

Produced within the past three years

A large number of the parts were also dated and were produced in the past three years. This could mean that the weapon only reached Russia after Russia’s attack on Ukraine began in February 2022.

This shows that North Korea is successfully circumventing UN sanctions against the country for ballistic missile components, the report continues. At the same time, it is also an indication of how much the country is dependent on imports from abroad.

Other countries were also affected

According to the report, this mainly concerns parts installed in the missile’s navigation system. In addition to the US and Germany, parts were also found from Singapore, Japan, Switzerland, China, the Netherlands and Taiwan.

London-based organization Conflict Armament Research, whose work is partly funded by the EU, examines weapons systems in war zones and the supply chains that produced them.

As early as 2018, UN investigators found Swiss components in North Korean missiles, as the Sonntagsblick revealed at the time. (neo/SDA)

Source: Blick