Putin paid Kim Jong-in for shells with horses – media

Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin sent North Korean leader Kim Jong-un 24 Oryol trotter horses as partial payment for artillery shells for the war against Ukraine. The Times writes about it on Saturday, August 31.

So, according to a report from the veterinary service of the Primorsky Territory, which has rail connections with North Korea, last Sunday 24 horses – 19 stallions and five mares – were brought across the narrow land border.

“Kim Jong-un has received a new shipment of horses from Russia, which is a new sign of the growing rapprochement between the North Korean leader and Putin,” the publication wrote.

Oryol trotters are known to be Kim’s favorite breed and the horses he is seen riding in propaganda images circulated by the North Korean regime.

“Thirty horses of this breed were also sent to Pyongyang in 2022,” the publication recalled.

At the same time, South Korean media emphasized that the new batch of horses was “part of the payment for North Korean artillery shells sent to the Russian military for use against Ukraine.”

The Times points out that this is not the first time that the leaders of the two states have given each other animals. So, the North Korean leader gave Putin a pair of local Pungsan dogs in June. In August, Putin retaliated by sending 447 goats to North Korea.

Let’s recall that on June 19, the leaders of Russia and the DPRK, Vladimir Putin and Kim Jong-un, signed an agreement on a comprehensive strategic partnership between the two countries.

North Korea’s economy recovers through arms trade with Russia – media