ALBAWABA - According to officials, North Korea has transported over 6,700 containers containing millions of munitions to Russia since September in return for food, parts, and raw materials for weapon development.
South Korean Defense Minister Shin Wonsik told reporters on Tuesday that the containers could hold more than three million 152mm artillery shells or 500,000 122mm rounds.
"It could be a combination of the two, and you can say that at least several million shells have been sent," Shin told the Yonhap news agency. The minister did not go into detail about the source of the information.
In exchange, Russia provides North Korea with food, raw materials, and parts for weapon manufacturing, according to Shin. The food aid has helped Kim stabilize food prices, he added, and if the arms shipments continue, Russia plans to give more military technologies to Kim, thereby increasing Pyongyang's ability to threaten the region.
As trade between North Korea and Russia grows in the third year of the invasion, the supply of U.S. military aid to Kyiv has become increasingly threatened.
Furthermore, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky stated last week that the European Union has only provided approximately 30% of the total 1 million artillery shells it promised to deliver to Kyiv by March.
He stated that hundreds of North Korean munitions facilities are operating at approximately 30% of their capacity due to a scarcity of raw materials and electricity, while those producing artillery rounds for Russia are "in full swing".
While North Korea and Russia deny any arms transfers, commercial satellite footage shows approximately four cargo ships moving between North Korea's Najin port near the Russian border and the Russian port of Dunay, a former Soviet submarine port about 180 kilometers (110 miles) away.
The White House stated that it has traced some of those shipments as they went by rail across Russia to reserves near Ukraine.
Pyongyang's delivery of ballistic missiles, artillery shells, and other military material to support Russia's war on Ukraine has jolted an economy that has long been isolated by international sanctions.
This will allow Kim Jong Un to avoid interaction with the US for years to come, while also improving his ability to install surveillance satellites and build his nuclear weapons program.
