Study from South Korea:

North Korea supplied Moscow with weapons worth billions

A report on North Korean artillery units on South Korean television

(Bild: APA/AP)

According to a South Korean study, Russia has already received arms supplies worth up to five billion euros from North Korea in the course of the war in Ukraine. In addition, the income of the regime in Pyongyang could increase by hundreds of millions of euros due to the possible deployment of troops in Ukraine.

This is according to the publication "Putin's Partners" by the Friedrich Nauman Foundation. For the study, Olena Guseinova from the Hankuk University of Foreign Languages in Seoul analyzed intelligence reports, leaked documents and ammunition prices from previous North Korean arms deals. Based on this, the researcher estimates the volume of North Korean arms deliveries to Russia since February 2022 at between 1.7 billion and 5.5 billion US dollars.

Artillery shells and short-range missiles
North Korea itself does not publish any data on its arms exports, which makes a more precise estimate practically impossible. The South Korean secret service bases its reports on satellite photos, among other things, which it uses to monitor ship deliveries between North Korea and Russia. According to the report, North Korea is supporting the Russian army primarily with artillery shells and short-range missiles. 

On Thursday, Ukrainian military intelligence stated that North Korean units had already been observed in the Russian region of Kursk, which is partially controlled by Ukrainian troops. Around 12,000 soldiers, including 500 officers and three generals, are in Russia and are being trained at five military bases. According to the USA, it has evidence that North Korean soldiers are in Russia. South Korean MPs had stated that, according to their information, North Korea had initially sent around 3,000 soldiers to Russia for a mission against Ukraine and wanted to increase the number. 

According to South Korean intelligence reports, Kim Jong Un has already sent thousands of soldiers to the Ukraine front. According to the USA, it also has evidence of this.

(Bild: APA/AFP/KCNA VIA KNS/STR)

Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Russian television on Friday that he reserved the right to deploy North Korean soldiers - and thus went further than before. "If we have something to decide, we will decide," Putin said. "It is our sovereign decision." He drew a parallel to statements by Western states, which had declared that Ukraine would decide on its own defense. 

Support pact between Russia and North Korea
Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un agreed a strategic partnership in the North Korean capital Pyongyang in June. Article 4 of the agreement states: "If one of the contracting parties is exposed to an armed attack by one or more states and is therefore in a state of war, the other contracting party will immediately provide military and other assistance by all means at its disposal."