North Korea has sent containers to Russia that can hold almost 5 million artillery shells. Putin is likely to seek even more during his visits to Pyongyang.
Points of attention
- In the case of exchanging ammunition for technology from Putin, the North Korea receives support in improving its own military capabilities.
- The billion dollars spent by North Korea on missile tests is a significant part of its economy and highlights the growing weight of the country's military-technical complex.
- Russia considers North Korea a strategic ally and expects support in global geopolitical conflicts.
- Statements about the use of Ukraine as a test site for North Korea's missile activities through cooperation with Russia require an international reaction and countermeasures.
South Korea has calculated how many weapons North Korea has sent to Russia
Seoul discovered at least 10,000 shipping containers going from North Korea to Russia. They also had dozens of ballistic missiles with which the Russian invaders are attacking Ukraine.
In exchange for the munitions, Moscow has given Pyongyang technology to help it deploy reconnaissance satellites and improve tanks and aircraft.
It is noted that the North Korean leader, Kim Jong Un, is investing heavily in the missile program. Last year's missile tests alone cost him one billion dollars — that's 4% of North Korea's economy.
According to South Korea's defense minister, a billion dollars would be enough to cover North Korea's food shortage for a year. However, Russia helps North Korea with this, thanking it for shells and missiles for its war.
For Russia, the North Korea is an important ally. The DIU chief Kyrylo Budanov said that North Korea is the largest supplier of weapons and ammunition to the Russian Federation and without its help "the situation would be catastrophic" for the occupying forces.
North Korean missiles for Russia
The US State Department previously reported that since September 2023, North Korea has delivered more than 10,000 containers of ammunition or ammunition-related materials to Moscow.
At the same time, Vadym Skibitskyy, a representative of the Defence Intelligence of Ukraine (DIU), stated that North Korea handed over 1.5 million artillery ammunition to Moscow.
At the beginning of 2024, Western media wrote that Russia received a batch of ballistic missiles from North Korea (several dozen) and launchers for them. At the same time, the USA officially declared that Russia has short-range ballistic missiles from North Korea and launched them over Ukraine.
On January 10, South Korea's ambassador to the UN said that North Korea uses Ukraine as a testing ground for its ballistic missiles with the help of Russia.
