Russia strengthens military ties with North Korea amid war
Russian Defence Minister Andrey Belousov visited North Korea. Ukrainian media suggest that discussions may once again focus on the support Pyongyang provides to Moscow, noting the already substantial scale of arms supplies to Putin's military.
The Defence Express portal highlighted the composition of the Russian delegation, which included several high-ranking politicians and military officers. Social media videos show that Andrey Belousov arrived in the allied country accompanied by Alexei Krivoruchko, responsible for arms supplies in Russia, and the head of the Main Rocket and Artillery Directorate (GRAU).
Russians with another visit to North Korea
Based on this, Ukrainians suspect that one of the key topics of negotiations from the Russian side will concern ammunition, as well as artillery and rocket weaponry.
North Korea is Russia's closest ally. Since the beginning of the war in Ukraine, it has been providing ammunition to Putin's military. According to U.S. and South Korean intelligence services, Pyongyang has already sent Moscow about 20,000 containers, potentially holding approximately 9.4 million 152 mm artillery shells. Such shells are used by the Russians in their artillery, which plays a key role in the ongoing war in Ukraine.
Weapons from North Korea in service of Russia
The cooperation between the two countries has advanced further. North Korea also supported Russia by sending over 12,000 of its soldiers to the Kursk region, where Ukrainian forces launched an offensive in August of this year.
Among the weapons supplied to Russia are KN-23 (Hwasong-11A) ballistic missiles. According to CNN, Russia has launched about 60 such missiles this year, nearly one-third of all ballistic missiles launched towards Ukraine in the past 12 months. The range of the KN-23 is about 600 kilometres.
In November, the first evidence appeared of Russians using North Korean M1989 "Koksan" artillery systems. This is the most formidable weapon of its type available to Pyongyang. It uses a 170 mm gun and can reportedly hit targets at a distance of up to 50-60 kilometres.
Analysts have concerns about the technical condition of the North Korean equipment. The increasing presence of systems from North Korea in Russia and Ukraine is also seen as an indication of the growing challenges faced by the Russians and their diminishing supplies of domestic weapons.
