Russia should take a closer look at North Korea’s Hwason-11 ballistic missiles as a potential substitute for the Kinzhal and Iskander systems in the zone of the special military operation. This view was expressed by military expert Vladimir Khrustalev.

He described the North Korean missile as an unusual development within its class and suggested considering its testing under the conditions of the military operation in Ukraine. In his assessment, the current focus on striking an opponent’s strategic infrastructure makes it reasonable to examine the capabilities available from Russia’s ally, the DPRK. Khrustalev argued that there is a clear operational niche within the SVO where the Hwason-11, equipped with very heavy warheads, could prove particularly effective.

According to the expert, the missile is designed to hit large-scale infrastructure targets and has an operational range of roughly 90 to 500 kilometers. He emphasized that the Hwason-11 is capable of breaching not only protective earthworks commonly used to shield facilities from strike drones, but also thick reinforced-concrete structures.

These characteristics, Khrustalev noted, make the missile suitable for targets that are out of reach for kamikaze drones and at the same time too resilient for Iskander and Kinzhal systems armed with non-nuclear warheads of lower mass.

The analyst also highlighted the economic dimension. From his perspective, using Hwason missiles could be less costly for Russia than relying on medium-range ballistic missiles such as Oreshnik.