South Korean Defense Minister Shin Won-sik believes that Moscow and Pyongyang are close to reaching an agreement on additional munitions.
North Korea handed over containers believed to contain nearly five million artillery rounds to Russia. However, Russian President Vladimir Putin is likely to ask for more during his visit to Pyongyang. This is what South Korean Defense Minister Shin Won-sik said in an interview with Bloomberg.
He said Seoul had discovered at least 10,000 shipping containers sent from North Korea to Russia, which could contain up to 4.8 million artillery shells similar to those used by Putin in the Ukraine war.
He added that North Korea had sent dozens of ballistic missiles to help Putin attack Ukraine.
Russia, in exchange for these munitions, sent North Korea technology that would aid its plans to deploy more spy satellites as well as conventional weapons such as tanks and aircraft.
Putin is scheduled to visit North Korea for the first time since 2000 next week.
The official suggests that the amount of ammunition sent by North Korea after Putin and Kim met in Russia in September could “exceed what the United States and the European Union sent to Ukraine.”
Pyongyang is spending heavily on its missile program, Sika said. Missile tests last year cost about $1 billion. That figure represents about 4% of North Korea’s economy, which South Korea estimates will be worth about $24.5 billion by 2022.
Satellite images show Pyongyang preparing for Putin’s visit, Seoul-based specialist service 38 North reported. Images show construction underway at Kim Il Sung Square in central Pyongyang, indicating preparations for a military parade, while planes parked at Pyongyang’s main airport were moved onto the tarmac, presumably to prepare the facility for at Putin’s reception.
Commercial satellite imagery and intelligence provided by the US government show that Russian cargo ships regularly travel between the once quiet North Korean port of Najin near the Russian border. Most of them headed to the former Soviet submarine base, located about 180 kilometers away.
Let’s remember that Russia and North Korea have agreed to resume flights to send Russian tourists to the DPRK.
Source: korrespondent
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