North Korea’s record missile flurry could have cost as much as US$650 million

Pyongyang fired 33 test missiles in 2022 – costing US$30 million per intercontinental ballistic missile and US$5million for each short-range ballistic missiles

Barrage of missile launches comes as North Korea battles Covid and food shortages made worse by leader Kim Jong-un’s move to shut borders due to the pandemic

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A woman walks past a screen showing a news broadcast with file footage of a North Korean missile test, at a railway station in Seoul. Photo: AFP

Published: 3:15pm, 9 Jun 2022

North Korea may have spent as much as US$650 million on the missiles tested in a record barrage of launches this year, which comes as it battles Covid and food shortages made worse by leader Kim Jong-un’s decision to shut borders due to the pandemic.

Kim’s regime spent an estimated US$400 million to US$650 million to build and test the 33 missiles it fired this year, data compiled by the Korea Institute for Defence Analyses, a government-affiliated military research centre show. It costs North Korea as much as about US$30 million for each intercontinental ballistic missile tested so far this year, according to the analysis, which was requested by conservative lawmaker Shin Won-sik, a former General, and seen by Bloomberg News.

Short-range ballistic missiles tested by North Korea came in at as much as US$5 million each, about half the estimated costs for what Russia spends on its comparable missiles.

Shin described the missile expenditures as an example of what he views as misguided priorities under Kim, whose country ranks among the poorest on the planet. “At the end of the day, it is a tragedy for the North Korean people,” he said.

North Korea fired eight short-range ballistic missiles on Sunday, a record daily barrage that pushed it to a record number of launches in a single year under Kim, who appears ready to further ratchet up tensions with his first test of a nuclear device since 2017.

North Korea’s propaganda machine has for decades has justified heavy military expenditures as essential for preventing a United States invasion and preserving the unique culture of its people. The state for just as long has imprisoned those who question the decisions of its leaders.

The US warned North Korea of strong punishment if it conducts a nuclear test, which Washington said could possibly come in the next few days. US officials also reiterated Washington’s long-held position of not harbouring hostile intentions toward Pyongyang.