North Korea is using Ukraine as a “test site” for nuclear-capable missiles it has supplied to Russia, South Korea has warned.

Russia’s armed forces have launched multiple North Korean ballistic missiles at Ukraine since late December.

Hwang Joon-Kook, Seoul’s envoy to the United Nations, told a Security Council meeting on Wednesday that Pyongyang was using Ukraine as a “test site of its nuclear-capable missiles”.

“The introduction of North Korean missiles into the war in Ukraine has a significant implication on global nuclear non-proliferation,” he said.

Mr Joon-Kook added that Russia’s use of the missiles was an “existential threat” to South Korea.

South Korea was one of 48 countries including the US, Britain and Germany which issued a joint statement on Tuesday condemning the missile deliveries.

“The transfer of these weapons increases the suffering of the Ukrainian people, supports Russia’s war of aggression, and undermines the global non-proliferation regime,” it said.

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