North Korea has begun expanding its ballistic missile manufacturing facility.

North Korea is expanding its production facility for the short-range ballistic missile KN-23, which Russia is using against Ukraine. This was reported by the Reuters news agency, citing satellite images on Monday, November 25.

The site, known as the "February 11 Factory," is part of the Ryongsong machine-building complex in Hamhung, the second-largest city in North Korea, located on the eastern coast of the country. This facility is the only known manufacturer of solid-fuel ballistic missiles in the Hwasong-11/KN-23 class, according to Sam Lear, a researcher at the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies (CNS).

Satellite images taken in early October by Planet Labs reveal construction, likely for an additional assembly building, as well as new housing designed for potential workers, researchers from the American think tank believe. It is also possible that Pyongyang is upgrading the entrances to some underground facilities within the complex. The new assembly building is approximately 60-70% smaller than the structure previously used for missile assembly.

According to Lear, past publicly released videos by North Korean state media have shown that the factory's facilities produced everything from tank wheels to missile engine casings. North Korea's mission to the UN did not respond to the publication's request for comments regarding the expansion of the factory.

Notably, throughout this year and up to November 23, the Russian army has attacked Ukraine with about 60 North Korean KN-23 missiles. This accounts for roughly one-third of the total number of ballistic missiles launched by the enemy, reported CNN, citing an unnamed Ukrainian military source.

On November 25, the Main Intelligence Directorate published a list of components found in the North Korean ballistic missile KN-23/KN-24. The armament included foreign parts manufactured in five countries: China, the USA, Japan, the UK, and Switzerland.