North Korean MLRS Disguised as Civilian Truck Spotted in Kursk

Intelligence sources report more North Korean soldiers and weapons reinforcements are on the way to augment Russian forces and to replace battlefield losses, with some artillery system vehicles likely disguised as civilian cargo trucks.

The New York Times reported that North Korea is planning to send military manpower and equipment reinforcements to support Russia in the coming months, citing unnamed Pentagon sources. The head of Ukraine’s military intelligence directorate (HUR), Kyrylo Budanov, endorsed that assessment in an interview with the War Zone on Thursday.

The BBC Russian service citing intelligence sources said almost a third of the around 12,000 North Korean soldiers sent to support Russia have been killed, wounded or listed as missing in action by Ukraine’s Armed Forces since their deployment in December.

A short video clip posted by both pro-Kremlin and pro-Kyiv milbloggers purports to show North Korea’s BM-11 122 mm multiple launch rocket system (MLRS) hidden in a civilian cargo truck somewhere near the Kursk combat zone. The system, along with other weapons mounted on ordinary civilian vehicles, is said to have been originally intended to equip the DPRK’s Workers’ and Peasants’ Red Militia.

The BM-11 is thought to be a copy of Russia’s BM-21 Grad self-propelled 122 mm MLRS. Although the veracity of the latest video has been questioned by some it would be another North Korean weapons system provided to the Russian Armed Forces along with 170-mm Koksan self-propelled howitzer, KN-23 short-range ballistic missiles, the Bulsae-4 anti-tank guided missile (ATGM) system, and Pyongyang’s copy of the Tor-1 short-range surface-to-air missile (SAM) system.

Other Topics of Interest

4,000 DPRK Casualties in Kursk as Coordination With Russia Falters

A UK Defence Intelligence report says that command and control issues between North Korean and Russian forces in Kursk are leading to increased casualties and loss of operational cohesion.

The idea of concealing MLRS in civilian trucks, fuel tankers and agricultural trailers is not a new idea, it has been a feature of terrorist and irregular forces in the Middle East for some time. It was adopted by regular Iranian troops operating in Syria who even disguised weapons systems such as its Fatah-360 short-range ballistic missile – it now seems like that Moscow could also be turning to the tactic.

Analysts suggest that, in the era of real-time satellite and drone surveillance, the use of camouflaged weapons such as cargo trucks may grow, even though in the war in Ukraine civilian vehicles are often considered as “fair game” by both sides if they approach the combat zone.