According to a recently downgraded U.S. intelligence conclusion, the Russian Ministry of Defense is now acquiring millions of missiles and artillery rounds from North Korea for its ongoing conflict in Ukraine.
The fact that Russia is resorting to the isolated nation of North Korea, according to a U.S. official who talked on the record about the intelligence conclusion, shows that “the Russian military continues to suffer from severe supply shortages in Ukraine, due in part to export controls and sanctions.”
According to American intelligence experts, the Russians may eventually attempt to buy more North Korean military hardware. The New York Times was the first to report the intelligence discovery.
The U.S. official omitted information on the quantity of weapons Russia plans to buy from North Korea.
The discovery follows the recent confirmation by the Biden administration that Iranian-made drones were sent to the Russian military in August for use in the conflict in Ukraine.
The White House stated last week that Russian drones built in Iran that were purchased from Tehran in August for use in its conflict with Ukraine had technical issues.
The Biden administration claims that Russia picked up Mohajer-6 and Shahed-series unmanned aerial aircraft over several days last month as part of a Russian plot to obtain hundreds of Iranian UAVs for use in Ukraine.
As most of Europe and the West distanced itself, North Korea moved to forge closer ties with Russia. It blamed the United States for the Ukraine issue and criticized the West’s “hegemonic policy” for encouraging Russia to use force to defend itself.
The North Koreans have shown interest in deploying laborers to assist in the reconstruction of the country’s eastern Russian-occupied territory.
In a recent meeting with representatives from two Russia-backed separatist territories in the Donbas region of Ukraine, North Korea’s ambassador to Moscow expressed optimism about cooperation in the “field of labor migration,” and cited his nation’s easing of pandemic border controls as justification.
