Overview

• South Korea’s Defense Intelligence Agency says Pyongyang has shipped more than 12 million 152 mm artillery shells to Russia in roughly 28,000 containers since late 2023.
• North Korea has deployed about 13,000 troops to support Russia’s operations in Ukraine since October 2024.
• Seoul’s spy agency warns Pyongyang will send 5,000 construction workers and 1,000 sappers to Russia’s Kursk region in July or August.
• These transfers violate multiple U.N. Security Council resolutions and have been exchanged for Russian military technology and economic aid.
• A mutual defense treaty signed in June 2024 and high-level meetings between Kim Jong Un and Sergey Lavrov have solidified the Russia–North Korea military alliance.