Russia is buying millions of rockets and artillery shells from North Korea to support its invasion of Ukraine, according to a newly declassified US intelligence finding.
A US official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said on Monday that the fact Russia’s defence ministry had turned to Pyongyang demonstrated that “the Russian military continues to suffer from severe supply shortages in Ukraine, due in part to export controls and sanctions”.
US intelligence officials believe the Russians could try to acquire additional North Korean military equipment in the future. The intelligence finding was first reported by the New York Times.
The US official did not reveal exactly how much weaponry Russia intended to buy from North Korea.
The finding comes after the Biden administration confirmed the Russian military took delivery of Iranian-manufactured drones in August for use on the battlefield in Ukraine.
The White House said last week that Russia had faced technical problems with Mohajer-6 and Shahed-series drones, bought as part of what the Biden administration says is likely to be part of a Russian plan to acquire hundreds of Iranian unmanned aerial vehicles for use in the conflict.
On Monday, Yuriy Ignat, a spokesperson for Ukraine’s air force, said the Iranian-made drones could carry three times more munitions than the Turkish-made Bayaktars used by Ukrainian forces. He said he believed Ukrainian air defence was capable of shooting them down.
“The only thing that needs to be (taken into account) is that this is a modern strike drone. But we do not know the quality of its production, because Iran (made it) from contraband parts, because the country is under sanctions,” Ignat said in an appearance on Ukraine’s Espreso TV.
“Let’s hope that (the drones) are not too well made and our anti-aircraft guns will shoot them down like all other enemy (drones).”
Any arms sales to Russia by North Korea would be a violation of UN resolutions banning Pyongyang from exporting to, or importing weapons from, other countries.
North Korea has sought to strengthen relations with Russia as much of Europe and the west has pulled away. The regime has blamed the US for the Ukraine crisis and claimed the west’s “hegemonic policy” justifies military action by Russia in Ukraine to protect itself.
The Russian president, Vladimir Putin, and the North Korean leader, Kim Jong-un, recently exchanged letters in which they called for “comprehensive” and “strategic and tactical” cooperation between the countries.
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Moscow has also joined North Korea in condemning the resumption last month of large-scale joint military exercises involving the US and South Korea, which Pyongyang views as a rehearsal for an invasion.
Russia, along with China, has called for the easing of UN sanctions imposed in response to North Korea’s nuclear and ballistic missile tests.
As members of the UN security council, they have approved 11 rounds of sanctions against North Korea since 2006. But in May, they vetoed a US-led attempts to impose fresh measures against the regime after a series of high-profile missile tests.
North Korea has also said it is ready to send construction workers to help rebuild Russian-occupied territories in Ukraine, in breach of a UN resolution that required member states to repatriate all North Korean workers from their soil by 2019.
North Korea’s ambassador to Moscow recently met envoys from two Russia-backed separatist territories in the Donbas region of Ukraine and expressed optimism about cooperation in the “field of labour migration”, citing his country’s easing pandemic border controls.
In July, North Korea became the only country aside from Russia and Syria to recognise the self-proclaimed republics in Luhansk and Donetsk, further aligning with Russia over the conflict in Ukraine.
