North Korean arms trade fuels Russian military efforts
According to the German Friedrich Naumann Foundation, the value of North Korean arms supplies to Russia can be estimated at several billion dollars. Additionally, the DPA agency reported on Monday that sending troops from North Korea to Russia could provide Pyongyang with further profits.
The foundation states that the armaments supplied to Moscow by Pyongyang since 2022, coinciding with the Russian invasion of Ukraine, may be worth up to 5.5 billion dollars.
Moreover, North Korea's revenues could further increase by hundreds of millions of dollars due to the potential dispatch of troops from this country to Ukraine, warned the publication "Putin's Partner."
Help worth billions
For research purposes, Olena Guseinova from the Hankuk University of Foreign Studies in Seoul analyzed intelligence reports and disclosed documents and ammunition prices from previous North Korean arms transactions. Based on this analysis, the researcher estimated the value of North Korean arms supplies to Russia since February 2022 to be 1.7-5.5 billion dollars.
North Korea does not publish any data on arms exports, making detailed analyses difficult. South Korean intelligence relies, among other things, on satellite images to monitor sea deliveries from North Korea to Russia.
Missiles and rockets
According to one of these reports, Pyongyang supports the Russian army primarily with artillery shells and short-range missiles, DPA reported.
"The Ukraine war has worsened the security situation in East Asia. Russia and North Korea are working to destabilize the international order," said Frederic Spohr, head of the Korean branch of the Friedrich Naumann Foundation.
