From August 2023 to January 2024, North Korea could supply about 1.6 million artillery shells to Russia. This was reported by the Washington Post with reference to the Center for Advanced Defense Studies (C4ADS).
According to C4ADS, just two Russian ports in the Far East sent more than 74 thousand metric tons of cargo to the country's western border during this period. They are labeled as ammunition or explosives in logistics documents. Researchers believe that the total weight of such cargo is equivalent to the weight of 1.6 million artillery shells.
The origin of the ammunition is not indicated in the documents, but analysis of satellite images and data on maritime traffic, according to Washington Post journalists and C4ADS specialists, suggests that four Russian ships were moored at the port before being sent to the west Rajin in North Korea.
According to the Washington Post, North Korea agreed to supply arms to Russia not only because of the anti-Western policy of its leadership. In the context of increased sanctions, the DPRK needs food, fuel, money, as well as Russian military technology to develop its own nuclear program.
Vladimir Putin arrived in the DPRK on June 18 for the first time in 24 years. The next day, June 19, Putin and Kim Jong-un signed an agreement on a “comprehensive strategic partnership.” InArticle 4 of the document states that “if one If one of the parties finds itself in a state of war due to an armed attack by one or more states, then the other party will immediately provide military assistance to it with all means available to it.”
After this, the South Korean government decided to reconsider the ban on direct arms supplies to Ukraine and impose sanctions against four ships, five organizations and eight people involved in the transportation of weapons and oil between Russia and the DPRK.