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North Korea has sent more than 1 million rounds of artillery to Russia that President Vladimir Putin appears to be using in his bombardment of Ukraine, according to a lawmaker briefed by South Korea’s spy agency.
There have been about 10 shipments of weapons from North Korea to Russia since August, the National Intelligence Service said in a closed-door briefing with South Korean lawmakers Wednesday, Yoo Sang-bum, a member of the ruling People Power Party who is on a parliamentary intelligence committee, told reporters.
North Korea also sent advisers to Russia on the use of the munitions, which would be enough for about two months’ of shelling, Yoo cited the intelligence service as saying.
Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu made a rare trip to North Korea in late July to join in celebrations to mark the end of fighting in the 1950-1953 Korean War and was given a tour of the country’s latest weaponry by leader Kim Jong Un. Soon after that, Russia sent a VIP military jet to Pyongyang, stoking concerns that Pyongyang was about to embark on a major arms transfer with Russia.
Pyongyang has some of the world’s largest stores of artillery shells and rockets that are interoperable with the Soviet-era weaponry pushed into service by Russia for use in Ukraine. The Kremlin’s war machine has been burning through its stocks and scrambling for supplies with the war now in its second year.
Cooperation between Pyongyang and Moscow has increased as the two have been pushed into global isolation, with Kim and Putin holding a summit in Russia in September. The White House said in October that Kim’s regime had provided 1,000 containers of military equipment and munitions.
Sales of munitions could bring hundreds of millions, or even billions of dollars to Kim’s cash-starved coffers, giving his sanctions-hit economy hard currency to engage in global commerce.
Putin pledged to help Kim put a spy satellite into orbit when the two met at a Russian space center for their summit. The South Korean spy agency said North Korea has received technical assistance from Russia that could help it reach its goal of putting objects in space after failing twice this year to deploy a spy satellite.
North Korea appears to be in the final stages of another attempt to launch a satellite, the NIS said. The US and its partners have warned that technology derived from North Korea’s space program could be used to advance its ballistic missiles, and warned that any help Putin offers Kim would violate measures that Russia had voted to approve.
There have been about 10 shipments of weapons from North Korea to Russia since August, the National Intelligence Service said in a closed-door briefing with South Korean lawmakers Wednesday, Yoo Sang-bum, a member of the ruling People Power Party who is on a parliamentary intelligence committee, told reporters.
North Korea also sent advisers to Russia on the use of the munitions, which would be enough for about two months’ of shelling, Yoo cited the intelligence service as saying.
Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu made a rare trip to North Korea in late July to join in celebrations to mark the end of fighting in the 1950-1953 Korean War and was given a tour of the country’s latest weaponry by leader Kim Jong Un. Soon after that, Russia sent a VIP military jet to Pyongyang, stoking concerns that Pyongyang was about to embark on a major arms transfer with Russia.
Pyongyang has some of the world’s largest stores of artillery shells and rockets that are interoperable with the Soviet-era weaponry pushed into service by Russia for use in Ukraine. The Kremlin’s war machine has been burning through its stocks and scrambling for supplies with the war now in its second year.
Cooperation between Pyongyang and Moscow has increased as the two have been pushed into global isolation, with Kim and Putin holding a summit in Russia in September. The White House said in October that Kim’s regime had provided 1,000 containers of military equipment and munitions.
Sales of munitions could bring hundreds of millions, or even billions of dollars to Kim’s cash-starved coffers, giving his sanctions-hit economy hard currency to engage in global commerce.
Putin pledged to help Kim put a spy satellite into orbit when the two met at a Russian space center for their summit. The South Korean spy agency said North Korea has received technical assistance from Russia that could help it reach its goal of putting objects in space after failing twice this year to deploy a spy satellite.
North Korea appears to be in the final stages of another attempt to launch a satellite, the NIS said. The US and its partners have warned that technology derived from North Korea’s space program could be used to advance its ballistic missiles, and warned that any help Putin offers Kim would violate measures that Russia had voted to approve.
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