Russia transferred Shahed drone production technology to North Korea – Budanov
Russia has transferred technology for producing "Shahed"-type strike drones to North Korea.
This was revealed by Chief of Ukraine’s Defense Intelligence Kyrylo Budanov, as reported by Censor.NET citing Suspilne.
"This ‘Shahed’ is like a nomad. It went from Iran to Russia, and now from Russia — no longer called ‘Shahed’ — it has made its way to North Korea. They work quickly, believe me, unfortunately… Russia is transferring technology to North Korea. They’re not supplying finished Shaheds, but rather the technology, equipment, and so on. They are setting up local production," Budanov said.
According to the DIU chief, Russia has already handed over the technology for producing strike drones to Pyongyang.
Budanov noted that the production of Shahed drones will worsen the security environment on the Korean Peninsula.
"North Korea is rapidly increasing its military strength — primarily due to direct cooperation with Russia and the real combat experience its troops are gaining. This inevitably affects the security landscape, because for North Korea there is only one real enemy — South Korea. No one else. And they know that very well," the DIU chief said.
According to Budanov, Russia has also transferred Pantsir-S1 air defense systems to North Korea and is training North Korean soldiers to operate them.
"Pantsir-S1 systems have already appeared in Pyongyang. They are on active combat duty, guarding the capital. Russian instructors are retraining Korean personnel. Soon, North Koreans will be able to operate the systems independently," Budanov said.
