Russia’s use of North Korean missiles in its assault in Ukraine is giving Pyongyang a rare chance to test its weapons in combat and perhaps take away lessons that could improve their performance, a top U.S. general said.

"I don’t believe that in my recent memory that the North Korean military has had a battlefield laboratory quite like the Russians are affording them to have in Ukraine,” said Gen. Charles Flynn, the U.S. Army Pacific’s commanding general.

That gives North Korea an opportunity to gain valuable information in technical matters, procedures and the munitions themselves. The U.S. will be watching closely how this unfolds, Flynn said Saturday during a visit to the sprawling U.S. Army Garrison Humphreys, about 80 kilometers (50 miles) south of Seoul.