North Korea sent 3 mn artillery shells in 6,700 containers to Russia, says Seoul

Russia has been fighting Ukraine with full might since the beginning of its invasion on February 24, 2022. It appears that the ammunition provided by North Korea is making Putin’s army stronger to take over regions in the neighbouring European nation.

In recent weeks, Russia has repeatedly fired North Korean-supplied short-range ballistic missiles at Ukrainian targets, but it was unclear how much ammunition was being shipped from Pyongyang to Moscow.

In numbers: North Korea’s ammunition supply to Russia

The numbers have been revealed by South Korea’s Defence Minister, Shin Won-sik, who in an address to the media said in recent months, North Korea has sent 6,700 shipping containers of ammunition to Russia, potentially providing more than 3 million 152-millimeter artillery shells.

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In November, South Korea’s National Intelligence Service had estimated that the North transferred more than 1 million artillery rounds to Russia.

It is worth mentioning that North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un visited Moscow for a summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin in September last year, where he endorsed the Kremlin’s war on Ukraine and said, “I will always be standing with Russia.”

In January, The Wall Street Journal mentioned in its report that Russia has been using 10,000 artillery shells per day in its war against Ukraine. It cited data from another British think tank, the Royal United Services Institute. The figures were five times the volume currently used by Ukraine.

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Another British think tank, the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS), anticipates that North Korean artillery shells are propping up Russia’s war efforts.

Moscow has resolved its artillery shells shortage from last summer when Ukraine was using 7,000 rounds per day versus Russia’s 5,000.

Supplies increased after Putin-Kim meet

On 13 September 2022, Kim took a train from North Korea to Moscow to meet Putin for a rare summit during which the two leaders discussed military matters, the Ukraine war and possible Russian help for the N. Korea’s satellite programme.

Back then, the US and South Korean officials had expressed concern that Kim could provide weapons and ammunition to Russia. Moscow and Pyongyang both had then denied such intentions.

According to IISS, Pyongyang has supplied Moscow with at least a month’s worth of shells, since Kim and Putin’s meeting in September.

Factories supplying artillery shell to Russia operating at full capacity

South Korea’s defence minister further said due to electricity shortages, North Korea’s munitions factories are running at roughly 30 per cent capacity, but factories supplying artillery shells to Russia are operating at full capacity, suggesting that Kim’s regime is giving utmost importance to munitions supplies to Moscow.

Russia has sent 30 per cent more containers to North Korea than it has received from the North, Shin said. The North Korea-bound containers were likely mainly filled with food, he added.

North Korea was suffering from food insecurity since the COVID-19 pandemic, but is now believed to be maintaining stable food supplies, Shin said.

What Russia has promised?

During the September meeting between Putin and Kim, the Russian leader said his country would help North Korea build satellites.

Now Shin informed that Pyongyang is seen launching another satellite as soon as late March and Russia is expected to continue to provide technological assistance for North Korea’s military surveillance satellite program.

With inputs from agencies