North Korea unveiled a new air-to-air cruise missile last week as part of its ongoing effort to modernize its aging Air Force and broader military architecture. The new system was showcased in video released by the state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) during celebrations marking the 80th anniversary of the founding of the Korean People’s Army Air Force. The footage showed North Korean leader Kim Jong Un presenting the missile while it was mounted on an Su-25 fighter jet, one of the country’s older but still widely used aircraft.
According to KCNA, the missile is believed to have a range exceeding 300 kilometers and is designed for stand-off precision strikes. Although Pyongyang has not assigned an official name to the weapon, several military analysts have pointed out its notable resemblance to long-range European cruise missiles, including the German Taurus missile and the British-French Storm Shadow/SCALP system. These similarities extend beyond the external profile and appear to include structural details consistent with European designs.
Some observers have proposed a Russian lineage, arguing the missile could be related to the KH-59 series. However, a broad consensus within the defense analysis community suggests the projectile is more likely a reverse-engineered replica of the Storm Shadow. This assessment is strengthened by the fact that Russia has had extensive exposure to Storm Shadow debris since 2023, when the missile began being used against Russian-held targets. Recovered components from intercepted or failed strikes would have provided Russian engineers with valuable insight into the missile’s design and internal systems.
Given the expanding military and technological cooperation between Moscow and Pyongyang since 2023, analysts argue that Russia could have passed these insights to North Korea as part of a broader exchange. The two countries formalized this cooperation in a security agreement last year, and Pyongyang has since accelerated the unveiling of new weapons. At least six new ballistic and cruise missile designs were introduced in 2025 alone, many of them appearing closely modeled on Russian or Western-origin systems used in the Ukraine conflict.
Earlier in May, North Korea also revealed a medium-range air-to-air missile strikingly similar to the U.S.-made AIM-120 AMRAAM, which has been supplied to Ukraine since 2023 and retrofitted for older Soviet aircraft platforms—aircraft types that North Korea still operates. Combined with the latest cruise missile unveiling, these developments illustrate Pyongyang’s determination to rapidly integrate advanced missile technologies into its inventory while deepening its reliance on Russian technical assistance.