While North Korea and Russia are denying allegations of arms trade between the two countries, reports have emerged that the Russian military has released a video thanking North Korea for providing weapons.
On the 12th, Radio Free Asia (RFA) reported in Russian on ‘Telegram’, a social network service (SNS) operated by the Russian military, that “Multiple Rocket Launcher (MRL) extended-range shells kindly provided by North Korean comrades were in the NVO zone. It was reported on the 17th that a video saying “It has arrived!” was uploaded.
The video shows a Russian soldier in front of a pile of rockets saying he is grateful for the weapons North Korea sent him.
RFA pointed out that the fact that artillery shells appeared on the front line rather than in Russian weapons storage means that Russia’s supply of artillery shells is decreasing.
David Maxwell, a U.S. military expert and deputy director of the Asia-Pacific Strategic Center, told RFA, “Multiple rocket launchers are ubiquitous, so it is very likely that North Korea provided the ammunition,” adding, “These weapons are often used for indirect fire against tactical targets in Ukraine.” Therefore, Russia will be quickly depleting its ammunition inventory and will need resupply from North Korea,” he said.
RFA said it sent a message to the Telegram channel administrator to confirm the authenticity of the video, but has not yet received a response.
The arms trade between North Korea and Russia violates UN Security Council Resolution 1874, which prohibits the export of all weapons and related materials from North Korea and prohibits the delivery of weapons and related materials from North Korea using domestic ships.
South Korea and the United States believe that North Korea is supporting the weapons used by Russia in the war in Ukraine, but North Korea and Russia deny this.
Source: Donga
Mark Jones is a world traveler and journalist for News Rebeat. With a curious mind and a love of adventure, Mark brings a unique perspective to the latest global events and provides in-depth and thought-provoking coverage of the world at large.