North Korea provides between 35 and 50 percent of Russia’s ammunition needs, supplying 200,000–260,000 shells of 152 mm and 122 mm per month.
This information was shared with Ukrinform by Oleg Aleksandrov, an officer of the Ukrainian Foreign Intelligence Service.
“Currently, North Korea provides 35–50 percent of Russia’s ammunition requirements, delivering 200,000–260,000 152 mm and 122 mm shells per month,” he said.
Aleksandrov recalled that Pyongyang has also supplied Russia with launchers and short-range ballistic missiles KN-23 and KN-24, which Russia uses to shell Ukrainian cities.
According to him, Russia and North Korea are using the war in Ukraine to test and improve the performance of North Korean weapons on the battlefield. This includes the modernized version of the Soviet Konkurs anti-tank missile system (North Korean version – Phoenix-2), the self-propelled long-range anti-tank missile system Bulsae-4, and the 600 mm large-caliber MLRS KN-25.
The Foreign Intelligence Service of Ukraine estimates that a contingent of 8,500–13,000 North Korean troops is stationed in the Kursk region of Russia, allowing Russia to free an equivalent number of its own forces for the war against Ukraine.
Additionally, intelligence recorded the arrival of 1,000 North Korean troops in the Kursk region in September, in line with Pyongyang’s announcement of sending additional forces, including 1,000 sappers and 5,000 military construction personnel.
The Kremlin is also actively employing North Korean labor migrants to compensate for workforce losses caused by mobilization measures. Currently, over 17,800 North Korean workers are in Russia. Efforts are underway to recruit an additional 26,000, with 6,000 planned to be sent for construction work in temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine, the intelligence service reported.
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