North Korean state media released footage of dictator Kim Jong-un visiting an air base where MiG-29 fighter jets (up to 20) and Su-25 attack aircraft are deployed.
At the same time, an air-to-air missile resembling an American AIM-120 AMRAAM was shown for the first time, now as part of the arsenal of Korean MiG-29s. The missile was subsequently shown being launched, confirming that North Korea has upgraded its aircraft.
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This raises the question of where Pyongyang obtained the technology to modernize its MiG-29s. The options are obvious — russia and China. It is still unclear how the technology transfer occurred between the three dictatorial countries.
It is unlikely that russians would specifically clone AIM-120 missiles for North Korea. Moreover, for that, they would need to somehow obtain any AMRAAM missile debris first. On the other hand, without assistance from russia, it would have been difficult for North Korea to modify the onboard equipment of its MiG-29s, which were received in the 1980s from the USSR and had not undergone any modernization before February 2022.
Social media analysts speculated that the missile in the photo above is not actually a clone of the AIM-120, but rather a copy of the Chinese PL-12 air-to-air missile. The theory is sounds plausible, but there is a nuance: China does not have MiG-29 aircraft in service.
Therefore, russian specialists must have at least participated in the integration of Chinese missiles into Soviet fighter aircraft, underscoring how close the developmental cooperation in the North Korea-China-russia alliance has become.
It should be noted that the first reports of North Korean pilots being sent to train in russia appeared in October 2024. Last December, it was reported that the Kremlin could transfer MiG-29 and Su-27 combat aircraft to North Korea in exchange for soldiers.
So far, we can only observe modernized MiGs in the Korean People's Army Air Force. It is quite possible that, over time, North Korea may receive more advanced aircraft from russia, China, or other authoritarian regimes.
Earlier, Defense Express reported that North Korea is outpacing russia in the naval domain by building a second Choe Hyon-class destroyer just a month after launching the first.
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