The president of Russia, Vladimir Putinwill travel to North Korea on a two-day visit starting Tuesday to meet with one of the main suppliers of weapons for its war against Ukraine.
As the war has dragged on, Russia has found itself in dire need of conventional weapons, such as artillery shells, that North Korea could supply.
Here’s some background on what’s happened so far and why it’s important.
What do we know about previous arms shipments?
The United States first accused North Korea of selling artillery to Russia in September 2022, seven months after the start of the war.
At the time, North Korea denied the allegations.
Then, in August of last year, the White House warned that Putin and the North Korean leader, Kim Jong-unwere holding arms negotiations, and in September, Kim visited Putin in eastern Russia.
A few weeks later, U.S. officials said North Korea had sent more than 1000 containers of weapons to Russia for use in the war in Ukraine.
By March, according to officials, North Korea had sent about 7000 containers of weapons to Russia.
If these are projectiles 152 millimeter artillerythe containers could carry up to three million cartridges, declared the South Korean Defense Minister.
Or, if filled with 122-millimeter rockets, they could hold more than half a million rounds.
They could also have a mix of both ammunition, he said.
In his most recent estimate, the minister, Shin Wok-sik, last week put in 10,000 the number of containers sent by North Korea to Russia.
Additionally, the White House said in January that Russia had begun launching ballistic missiles produced in North Korea.
Arms control experts stated that fragments of the short-range ballistic missile have been found Hwasong-11A in the rubble after Russian airstrikes against Ukrainian cities for months, including Kharkiv in February.
North Korea could also be supplying anti-tank missiles and portable surface-to-air missilesas well as rifles, rocket launchers, mortars and projectiles, they told South Korean military journalists in November.
Both Moscow and Pyongyang deny the arms trade, prohibited by United Nations sanctions.
How important are these weapons?
The war in Ukraine is a war of attrition, in which Russia and Ukraine try to outgun each other, firing thousands of artillery shells, missiles and rockets each day.
That means all the ammunition provided by North Korea helps maintain Russia’s advantage over Ukraine.
The Hwasong-11A series missiles, in particular, have a high degree of precision and are hard to knock downthe experts stated.
But at least some of the other weapons are believed to be old or ineffective.
Last fall, Mark A. Milley, The top U.S. military official at the time said he doubted it would be “decisive” when asked whether the 152-millimeter projectiles supplied by North Korea would have much of an impact on the battlefield.
“Would it make a big difference? I am skeptical about it,” he declared shortly before resigning as head of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
Rome-based Lara Jakes reports on Western diplomatic and military efforts to support Ukraine in its war against Russia. She has been a journalist for almost 30 years.
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