South Korean military officials said Thursday they suspect North Korea of supplying missiles, ammunition and projectiles to Russia in support of Russian forces in the war against Ukraine.
The estimate was released a day after Seoul’s secret services told South Korean delegates that Pyongyang recently delivered more than a million artillery shells to Russia, in a context of deepening military cooperation between the two countries.
In a meeting with local journalists, the South Korean military said North Korea is suspected of sending an unspecified number of short-range ballistic missiles, anti-tank missiles and portable anti-aircraft missiles, as well as shotguns and rocket launchers to Russia. , mortars and howitzers.
The contents of this meeting were shared with the North American news agency Associated Press.
Last week, South Korea, the United States and Japan condemned North Korea’s supply of ammunition and military equipment to Russia, saying such arms deliveries drastically increase the number of victims of the war in Ukraine.
Any arms trade with North Korea would violate several United Nations Security Council resolutions, which Russia, a permanent member of the UN Security Council, has previously supported.
Both Russia and North Korea have rejected the accusations.
But speculation about North Korean arms shipments increased after North Korean leader Kim Jong Un met Russian President Vladimir Putin in Russia in September and visited Russian military installations.
The United States and its allies accuse North Korea of seeking Russian technology to modernize its arsenal of nuclear weapons and missiles in exchange for conventional weapons.
In a private meeting with delegates on Wednesday, South Korea’s National Intelligence Service (NIS) said more than a million North Korean artillery shells have been sent to Russia since August.
NOS said North Korea is likely to receive Russian technological assistance in the project to launch the first military spy satellite into space.
North Korea’s two recent launch attempts failed due to technical problems.
According to the South Korean armed forces, North Korea also wants to receive nuclear technology, fighter jets, aviation equipment and help in building anti-aircraft networks from Russia.
Source: DN
