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yesterday

North Korea Arms Russia with Ballistic Missiles and Troops, Violating UN Sanctions

An 11-country monitoring team’s first report documents Pyongyang’s arms shipments, troop deployments, reciprocal technology transfers, bolstered Russian strike capabilities against Ukrainian infrastructure.

In this pool photograph distributed by the Russian state agency Sputnik, Russian President Vladimir Putin (L) shakes hands with North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un (R) after a signing ceremony following their bilateral talks at Kumsusan state residence in Pyongyang, on June 19, 2024.
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North Korean Public Security Minister Pang Tu Sop, right, meets with Russian Vice Interior Minister Vitaly Shulika at the Mansudae Assembly Hall in Pyongyang, North Korea Wednesday, May 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Jon Chol Jin)

Overview

  • The Multilateral Sanctions Monitoring Team’s May 30 report covers January 2024–April 2025 and details extensive military cooperation between North Korea and Russia in breach of multiple UN Security Council resolutions.
  • Since September 2023, North Korea has sent over 20,000 containers of munitions to Russia, including nine million artillery rounds, more than 100 ballistic missiles and heavy artillery pieces.
  • Pyongyang deployed over 11,000 troops to eastern Russia in late 2024 and dispatched an additional 3,000 soldiers in early 2025 to support combat operations alongside Russian forces.
  • In exchange, Russia transferred to North Korea at least one Pantsir mobile air defense system, a Pantsir-class combat vehicle, electronic warfare jammers, missile performance data and over one million barrels of refined petroleum.
  • The report warns these sanctions-busting exchanges have directly enabled increased Russian missile strikes on Ukrainian civilian infrastructure and signal deepening, ongoing military ties.