The Russian Ministry of Defense is in the process of purchasing millions of rockets and artillery shells from North Korea for its ongoing invasion of Ukraine, according to a newly downgraded US intelligence finding.
A US official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the intelligence determination, on Monday said that Russia is turning to the isolated state of North Korea demonstrates 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 that the Russians could look to purchase additional North Korean military equipment in the future.
Photo: Reuters
The intelligence finding was first reported by the New York Times.
The US official did not detail how much weaponry Russia intends to purchase from the North.
The finding comes after US President Joe Biden’s administration confirmed that the Russian military last month took delivery of Iranian-manufactured drones for use on the battlefield in Ukraine.
The White House last week said that Russia has faced technical problems with the Iranian-made drones.
North Korea has sought to tighten relations with Russia as much of Europe and the West has pulled away, blaming the US for the conflict in Ukraine and decrying the West’s “hegemonic policy” as justifying military action by Russia in Ukraine to protect itself.
The North Koreans have hinted interest in sending construction workers to help rebuild Russian-occupied territories in the country’s east.
North Korea’s ambassador to Moscow recently met with envoys from two Russia-backed separatist territories in the Donbas region of Ukraine and expressed optimism about cooperation in the “field of labor migration,” citing his country’s easing COVID-19 pandemic border controls.
In July, North Korea was the only nation aside from Russia and Syria to recognize the independence of the territories Donetsk and Luhansk, further aligning with Russia over the conflict in Ukraine.
The North’s arms export to Russia would be a violation of UN resolutions that ban the country from exporting to or importing weapons from other countries. Its possible dispatch of workers to the Russian-held territories in Ukraine would also breach a UN resolution that required all member states to repatriate all North Korean workers from their soil by 2019.
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