The Power Within: The Kyiv Independent’s first-ever magazine. Be among the first to get it.

pre-order now
Skip to content
Edit post

North Korea could have sent up to 5 million artillery shells to Russia, Seoul says

by Kateryna Denisova and The Kyiv Independent news desk June 14, 2024 12:26 PM 2 min read
Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in Russia on Sept. 13, 2023. (Vladimir Smirnov / POOL / AFP)
This audio is created with AI assistance

North Korea sent containers to Russia that could contain as many as 4.8 million artillery shells, South Korean Defense Minister Shin Won-sik said in an interview with Bloomberg published on June 14.

With Russia's military stocks running low due to extensive use in Ukraine, North Korea has been shaping up as Russia's leading weapons supplier.

Seoul spotted at least 10,000 containers being shipped from North Korea to Russia, Won-sik said. Pyongyang also sent dozens of ballistic missiles that Moscow troops launch against Ukraine, he added.

Both Kyiv and Washington have previously said that Russia has been using North Korean-produced missiles to attack Ukraine. In March, Ukrainian prosecutors reported that Russia had fired around 50 such missiles to attack six Ukrainian oblasts since the beginning of the full-scale invasion.

In exchange for the ammunition, Russia reportedly provided North Korea with technology to help it deploy spy satellites as well as tanks and aircraft.

Russian President Vladimir Putin will reportedly visit Vietnam and North Korea soon. He will probably want to receive more shells during the trip and seek to strengthen security cooperation with Pyongyang, the South Korean minister said.

South Korea's intelligence service is conducting a review into suspicions that North Korea has provided Russia with artillery shells and other weaponry manufactured in the 1970s, the country's National Intelligence Service (NIS) said on May 12.

US intelligence officials share evidence that Russia has used North Korean missiles to strike Ukraine
The U.S. Ministry of Defense’s Intelligence Service reported that Russia has used North Korean ballistic missiles to strike Ukraine.

News Feed

8:06 AM  (Updated: )

Zelensky visits South Africa but cuts trip short after mass Russian strike.

"We count on South Africa’s meaningful participation in the International Coalition for the return of thousands of Ukrainian children abducted by Russia. We will also certainly strengthen our cultural and educational ties," President Volodymyr Zelensky said.
5:30 AM

Trump says he may meet Putin 'shortly' after May Middle East visit.

Despite ongoing ceasefire negotiations, Trump and Putin have yet to have direct contact, communicating only through their officials. Trump's last in-person encounter with his Russian counterpart was during the 2018 Helsinki Summit during the U.S. president's first term.
8:08 PM

Ukrainians react to US proposal of recognizing Crimea as Russian.

The U.S. media outlet Axios reported on April 23 that the U.S. President Donald Trump administration's final proposal for ending the Russia-Ukraine war included the U.S. de jure recognizing Russia's annexation of Crimea and de facto recognizing its control of other occupied Ukrainian territories. We asked Kyiv residents for their reactions to the U.S. proposal.
7:21 PM  (Updated: )

Trump says 'nobody is asking' Ukraine to recognize Crimea as Russian.

"Nobody is asking (President Volodymyr) Zelensky to recognize Crimea as Russian Territory, but if he wants Crimea, why didn’t they fight for it eleven years ago when it was handed over to Russia without a shot being fired?" U.S. President Donald Trump wrote.
MORE NEWS

Editors' Picks

Enter your email to subscribe
Please, enter correct email address
Subscribe
* indicates required
* indicates required
Subscribe
* indicates required
* indicates required
Subscribe
* indicates required
Subscribe
* indicates required
Subscribe
* indicates required

Subscribe

* indicates required
Subscribe
* indicates required
Subscribe
* indicates required
Explaining Ukraine with Kate Tsurkan
* indicates required
Successfuly subscribed
Thank you for signing up for this newsletter. We’ve sent you a confirmation email.