Kim Jong-un sent about 5 million shells to Russia

North Korea has shipped containers to Russia that can hold nearly 5 million artillery shells, but Russian dictator Vladimir Putin is likely to want more when he visits Pyongyang soon.

This was stated by South Korean Defense Minister Shin Wonsik in an interview with Bloomberg.

According to him, he discovered at least 10,000 containers being shipped from North Korea to Russia. They may contain up to 4.8 million artillery shells used by the Russian army in the war against Ukraine.

"Putin is expected to seek closer security cooperation with North Korea, especially in the area of military supplies, such as artillery shells, which are necessary to seize the chance of victory," he said.

According to South Korean newspaper DongA Ilbo, Putin will visit North Korea next week. This trip will be his first since July 2000.

Shin Wonsik also added that the DPRK's missile tests last year cost about $1 billion. This figure is about 4% of North Korea's economy, which, according to the South Korean central bank, will be worth about $24.5 billion in 2022.

"North Korea is ignoring the hardships of its people to carry out missile provocations... This money is enough to cover the food shortage in North Korea for a year," he said.

It is noted that satellite images indicate that Pyongyang is preparing for Putin's visit. They show construction on Kim Il Sung Square in downtown Pyongyang, indicating preparations for a military parade, and planes parked at Pyongyang's main airport have been moved to the runway, likely to prepare the facility to receive Putin.

Although Russia and North Korea deny arms transfers, commercial satellite imagery and intelligence provided by the US government show that Russian cargo ships regularly ply between the North Korean port of Najin near the Russian border. Most of them are headed for the Danube, a former Soviet submarine base about 180 kilometers away.

The White House has provided images showing weapons being shipped along this route and delivered by rail thousands of kilometers to a warehouse in the Russian city of Tikhoretsk for use against Ukraine.

Author - Ihor Lontkivskyi 14.06.24