Overview

• Since October 2024, Pyongyang has shipped more than 28,000 containers carrying over 12 million rounds of 152 mm artillery shells to Russia
• North Korea has deployed about 13,000 troops to support Russian operations in Ukraine since last autumn
• South Korea’s National Intelligence Service reports another 6,000 personnel—5,000 military construction workers and 1,000 sappers—are due in Russia’s Kursk region this summer
• The 152 mm shells are compatible with Russian self-propelled howitzers, towed howitzers and gun-howitzers, allowing for seamless integration into frontline artillery units
• These transfers breach multiple UN Security Council resolutions and reflect a strategic barter under a June 2024 defense treaty, with Pyongyang trading arms and manpower for Russian technological and economic aid