So far, North Korea shipped more than a million artillery shells to Russia

North Korea has delivered over 1 million rounds of artillery to Russia for use in its conflict with Ukraine. In return, it appears that Pyongyang has received guidance on satellite technology development, according to a South Korean lawmaker citing information from Seoul’s spy agency. Both Russia and North Korea, long-standing allies, are subject to international sanctions, with Moscow facing sanctions due to its invasion of Ukraine and Pyongyang for its nuclear weapons testing. South Korea’s National Intelligence Service (NIS) disclosed during a closed-door parliamentary audit on Wednesday that North Korea has conducted a minimum of 10 arms transfers to Russia since August. “The NIS has learned that more than one million artillery rounds have been transferred,” lawmaker Yoo Sang-bum told reporters after the audit. “It’s analysed to be sufficient for around two months in the Russia-Ukraine war,” Yoo added. In return, North Korea appeared to have received technical advice from Moscow on its bid to launch a military reconnaissance satellite, he said. The agency believes North Korea has been operating its munitions factories at full capacity to meet Russian munition demands and has also been mobilizing residents to increase production, Yoo said. There are also signs that North Korea dispatched weapons experts to Russia in October to counsel Russian officials on how to use the exported North Korean weapons. NIS officials didn’t immediately respond to a request to confirm Yoo’s account of the meeting. The agency has a mixed record of tracking developments in North Korea, which is made difficult by Pyongyang’s stringent control of information. There are concerns in South Korea that North Korea could receive sensitive Russian technologies that would enhance the threat of Kim’s nuclear weapons and missile program. But the NIS believes it’s more likely that the Russian assistance would be limited to conventional capabilities, possibly including efforts to improve North Korea’s ageing fighter aircraft fleets, Yoo said. It’s also likely that North Korea is receiving Russian technological assistance as it pushes ahead with plans to launch its first military reconnaissance satellite, Yoo quoted the NIS as saying. Following consecutive launch failures in recent months, the North failed to follow through on its vow to attempt a third launch in October. The NIS believes that the North is in the final phase of preparations for the third launch, which is more likely to be successful, Yoo said. Kim has repeatedly described space-based reconnaissance capabilities as crucial for monitoring U.S. and South Korean military activities and enhancing the threat posed by his nuclear-capable missiles. Experts say the decision to meet Putin at Vostochny Cosmodrome, a major satellite launch facility in the Russian Far East, hinted at Kim’s desire to seek Russian technology assistance over spy satellites. United Nations Security Council resolutions ban North Korean satellite launches because it views them as cover for testing long-range ballistic missile technologies. The United States, South Korea and Japan issued a joint statement on Oct. 26 that strongly condemned what they described as North Korea’s supply of munitions and military equipment to Russia, saying that such weapons shipments sharply increase the human toll of Russia’s aggression in Ukraine. The statement issued by the countries’ top diplomats came days after Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov denied U.S. claims that his country received munitions from North Korea as he returned from a two-day trip to Pyongyang. The White House had earlier said that North Korea had delivered more than 1,000 containers of military equipment and munitions to Russia. The White House released images that it said showed the containers were loaded onto a Russian-flagged ship before being moved via train to southwestern Russia. With inputs from agencies.