North Korea funnels millions of shells, hundreds of missiles, thousands of troops to Russia

The Multilateral Sanctions Monitoring Team (MSMT) stated this in its first report on cooperation between North Korea and Russia.

Throughout 2024, North Korea and Russia significantly expanded their military, political, and economic cooperation, violating UN Security Council resolutions. North Korea supplies Russia with weapons, missiles, artillery, and has sent over 11,000 military personnel to support the war against Ukraine. 

In return, Moscow is transferring air defense systems to Pyongyang, training its troops, and supplying prohibited volumes of petroleum products.

In 2024, Russia received up to 9 million units of artillery and rocket ammunition and 11,000 military personnel from North Korea. Meanwhile, Moscow sent air defense systems, anti-aircraft missiles, advanced electronic warfare equipment, and refined oil to North Korea without proper reporting. The transfer of weapons between North Korea and Russia violates the embargo established by UN resolutions. The fact that Russians trained North Korean soldiers is also a violation.

Since September 2023, North Korea has transferred over 20,000 containers of ammunition to Russia for the full-scale war against Ukraine. The containers contained shells of 82, 122, 130, 152, and 170 mm calibers. In addition, in 2024, Moscow received at least 100 North Korean ballistic missiles and used them to strike civilian infrastructure in Kyiv, Zaporizhzhia, and other cities.

The monitoring group also found that Pyongyang gave Russia more than 200 pieces of equipment, including self-propelled guns, multiple launch rocket systems, reloading vehicles, and Bulsae-4 anti-tank missiles and RPGs. Experts saw signs that the accuracy of North Korean missiles has increased due to the fact that the Russians tested them in real strikes against Ukraine.

The British organization Conflict Armament Research confirmed that some of the missiles with which Russia attacked Ukraine in 2024 were manufactured in North Korea. 

Analysis of missile fragments in Kharkiv, Bila Tserkva, and other cities showed characteristic signs of North Korean production. All missiles were identified as Hwasong-11A or Hwasong-11B, some of which were manufactured in 2024.

All this military cooperation violates UN Security Council resolutions prohibiting the transfer of weapons, training, and support from North Korea.