North Korea is on its way to becoming one of the most significant foreign arms suppliers to Russia, along with Belarus and Iran, British military intelligence reported on Thursday.
The UK Ministry of Defense said in its war intelligence update, “Despite Russia’s official rejection of recent reports, it is almost certain that North Korean munitions have now reached ammunition depots in western Russia. These depots support Russian military operations in Ukraine.”
It added, “If North Korea sustains the recent scale and pace of military-related shipments (more than 1,000 containers over the last several weeks), it will be on course to become one of Russia’s most significant foreign arms suppliers, alongside Iran and Belarus.”
The intelligence report stated, “It is currently unclear what Russia has agreed to provide North Korea in return. It is unlikely the full package has been finalized; it was highly likely one of the primary discussion topics during recent senior-level Russian visits to North Korea.”
It further elaborated, “It will likely include a mixture of financial compensation, other economic support, the provision of military technology, and cooperation on other high technology areas, such as space.”
The Kremlin had declined earlier this month Western accusation of North Korea providing weapons and ammunition to Russia.
North Korean President Kim Jong Un and Russian President Vladimir Putin held a rare summit in Moscow in September in which they discussed military cooperation, the war in Ukraine, and possible Russian support for North Korea’s satellite program.
Kim also met with Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu and discussed military cooperation and exchanges between the two countries’ armies while they took a tour of Russian weapons systems and vessels.
The US and South Korea have voiced concerns that North Korea is providing Russia with weapons and ammunition to be used in the war on Ukraine.
