Reuters： Pyongyang may have the ability to independently develop missile engines.
CCTV News:In response to the news reported by the US media on the 14th that the Ukrainian Southern Design Bureau sold missile engines to North Korea, the Ukrainian side voiced for two consecutive days, firmly denying the incident and suggesting that Russia was behind the scenes. In this regard, Russia also responded strongly: criticizing Ukraine for wanting to "shabu-shabu".
RD-250 engine
On 14th, The New York Times quoted a military expert as saying that North Korea successfully tested an intercontinental ballistic missile last month, probably because it bought missile engines from Ukrainian enterprises in the arms black market. A research report published by the Institute for International Strategic Studies in London, UK, further pointed out: "No other country can develop from having medium-range missiles to having intercontinental ballistic missiles in such a short time. This speed means that North Korea has obtained a high-performance liquid fuel engine from abroad, and only the RD-250 engine manufactured by the Southern Design Bureau of Ukraine meets the external characteristics of North Korea’s new engine. "
In this regard, the Ukrainian side voiced for two consecutive days and denied the incident.
Ukrainian Prime Minister Groisman said that this is aimed at sowing dissension against Ukraine. I believe the statement of the National Security and National Defense Commission, and I can assure you that there is no such thing at all.
The Southern Design Bureau of Ukraine was established in 1954, and its full name is the Southern Machinery Manufacturing Scientific Research and Production Consortium, located in Dnepropetrovsk, Ukraine. Its original purpose was to design ballistic missiles for dropping nuclear warheads. After the American media reported, the Southern Design Bureau has issued a statement that Ukraine has not provided military missile engines to any country since its independence in 1991.
The Ukrainian Space Agency hinted that Russia was behind the scenes.
The Ukrainian National Space Agency further issued a statement, suggesting that Russia is behind the scenes.
Yuri Radcenco, head of the Ukrainian National Space Agency, said that this kind of engine was produced in Ukraine before 2001 and was widely used in two projects, namely "Cyclone 2" and "Cyclone 3", which were supplied by the Southern Machinery Factory for Russian projects, but not produced for Ukraine itself.
When this statement came out, it was immediately countered by the Russian side.
The host of Russia’s first channel reported that what they mean is that Russia disassembled the "Cyclone" missile into components and gave the most precious engine to North Korea without feeling distressed. That’s ridiculous!
On 15th, the general manager of Southern Design Bureau suggested that RD-250 could be "copied" by 3D printing technology to meet the demand of North Korea. In this regard, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry rogozin said categorically that this is absolutely impossible.
Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry rogozin said that some portraits can be reproduced, but the engine is the most advanced technical structure, which requires not only detailed technical documents, but also test stands and various tests. Strictly speaking, what is needed most is professionals who know everything about engines, so this time either the technical documents were leaked or someone sold them directly.
Just as the two sides were at loggerheads, a piece of news disclosed by the British Reuters on the 16th was quite a "rescue". According to Reuters, Pyongyang may already have the ability to manufacture missile engines, and it does not need to rely on the support of other countries at all.
A reporter from Reuters, UK, said that the research of the London Institute for International Strategic Studies was only based on the measurement of the engine photos released by North Korea, and there was a heated discussion among experts who had been concerned about the North Korean nuclear issue. Some experts’ judgments were consistent with the assessment of American intelligence agencies, that is, North Korea may have the ability to independently develop and build missile engines.