Washington: The US intelligence agency found that the Russian Defense Ministry is trying to buy millions of rockets and artillery shells from North Korea for the war with Ukraine.
A U.S. official who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the intelligence determination said Monday that the fact Russia is turning to the isolated state of North Korea demonstrates that the Russian military continues to suffer from severe supply shortages in Ukraine due in part to export controls and sanctions.
US intelligence officials say the Russian government could buy more North Korean military equipment in the future.
The US official did not elaborate on how many weapons Russia plans to buy from North Korea.
The discovery comes after the Biden administration recently confirmed that the Russian military had delivered Iranian-made drones for use on the battlefield in Ukraine in August.
Russia picked up Mohajer-6 and Shahed-series unmanned aerial vehicles over several days last month as part of what the Biden administration says is likely part of a Russian plan to acquire hundreds of Iranian UAVs for use in Ukraine.
North Korea has sought to tighten relations with Russia as much of Europe and the West has pulled away, blaming the United States for the Ukraine crisis and decrying the West's "hegemonic policy" as justifying military action by Russia in Ukraine to protect itself.
North Korea has sought to tighten relations with Russia as much of Europe and the West has pulled away, blaming the United States for the Ukraine crisis and decrying the West's "hegemonic policy" as justifying military action by Russia in Ukraine to protect itself.
The North Koreans have hinted interest in sending construction workers to help rebuild Russian-occupied territories in the country's east.
North Korea's ambassador to Moscow recently met with envoys from two Russia-backed separatist territories in the Donbas region of Ukraine and expressed optimism about cooperation in the "field of labour migration," citing his country's easing pandemic border controls.
In July North Korea became the only nation aside from Russia and Syria to recognize the independence of the territories, Donetsk and Luhansk, further aligning with Russia over the conflict in Ukraine.
Russian President Vladimir Putin and Kim recently exchanged letters calling for "comprehensive" and "strategic and tactical" cooperation between the countries. Moscow has issued statements condemning the revival of large-scale military exercises between the United States and South Korea this year, which North Korea sees as an invasion rehearsal.
Russia, along with China, has called for the easing of U.N. Sanctions imposed on North Korea over its nuclear and missile tests. Both countries are members of the U.N. Security Council, which has approved a total of 11 rounds of sanctions on the North since 2006. In May, Russia and China vetoed a U.S.-led bid to impose new economic sanctions on North Korea over its high-profile missile tests this year.
Relations between Moscow and Pyongyang go back to North Korea's foundation in 1948, when Soviet officials appointed Kim Jong Un's late grandfather, Kim Il Sung, as the country's first ruler. After that, Soviet aid exports were crucial in sustaining North Korea's economy for decades before the collapse of the Soviet Union in the early 1990s.
Moscow has established formal diplomatic ties with Seoul and allowed the Soviet-era military alliance with North Korea to lapse in hopes of attracting South Korean investment. But after the 2000 election, Putin actively sought to restore his country's relationship with North Korea, seeking to regain its traditional spheres of influence and secure more allies for the U.S.
source:Associated Press