North Korea Upgrades Ballistic Missiles and Begins Mass Drone Production With Russian Help, NYT Reports

North Korea is continuing to improve its ballistic missiles and has started mass-producing attack drones, largely thanks to its cooperation with Russia, The New York Times reported. According to the newspaper, Moscow is passing its military developments to Pyongyang in exchange for soldiers, workers and weapons.

The two countries renewed their military ties after Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, and North Korea has since been modernising its armed forces and equipment with Russian assistance.

In early October, Pyongyang tested a tactical ballistic missile that it says can carry a nuclear payload. South Korea and Japan estimated that the missile flew about 700 km (430 miles), while North Korea claimed a range of 1,000 km (621 miles).

The NYT noted that Seoul usually answers such tests with short statements calling them provocative. This time, however, South Korea test-fired its own hypersonic ballistic missile for the first time, five days after the North's launch. President Lee Jae Myung observed the test, which the newspaper described as a sign that Seoul is increasingly uneasy about the rapid progress of North Korea's missile technology.

Part of that progress stems from access to Russian deployment data and feedback. Analyst Anton Ponomarenko said this has helped North Korea improve the accuracy and manoeuvrability of its weapons, making the threat to South Korea "more substantial".

Russia has also helped North Korea build its own unmanned systems and produce them in large numbers. The NYT wrote that Pyongyang has seen in Ukraine and the Middle East how inexpensive drones can overwhelm costly air defence systems. In a North Korean drill last month, a drone swarm attacked a target island while cruise and ballistic missiles hit it at the same time from different directions.

The newspaper argued that these evolving tactics will eventually force South Korea and its allies to redesign their air defences at exorbitant cost.

The report follows other recent accounts of the partnership. Bloomberg reported in September that Russia is using North Korean citizens to produce military drones, notably at facilities in Alabuga, Tatarstan, with up to 25,000 North Koreans believed to be working at Russian military plants. A North Korean missile forces unit, which could be equipped with 120 ballistic missiles and six launchers for strikes against Ukraine, has also begun deploying in western Russia.

Ukrainska Pravda previously reported that Russia asked North Korea in August to provide KN-30 ballistic missiles. In June 2026, North Korea announced tests of a modernised 240mm multiple-launch rocket system, a tactical ballistic missile and a 155mm long-range artillery shell.