North Korea denounces Ukraine's Kursk attack amid Russian missile strikes

The incursion of Ukrainian troops into Russian territory is the result of the aggressive, anti-Russian policy pursued by the United States, which is bringing the border situation to the brink of a third world war, reported the KCNA news agency, adding that the United States has provided the President of Ukraine with "astronomical" amounts of deadly weapons.

Pyongyang and Moscow have remained allies since the formation of North Korea after World War II. Even closer cooperation between the regimes occurred after Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

The United States and their allies accuse North Korea of supplying Russia with ammunition and missiles needed for military operations in Ukraine. South Korea's Defence Minister Shin Won-sik revealed that since September 2023, after the Kim Jong Un-Putin meeting in Vladivostok, Seoul detected at least 10,000 containers sent from North Korea to Russia. They contained up to 2.2 million artillery shells similar to those Russia used during attacks on Ukraine.

Initially, Kim Jong Un's regime supported the Russians primarily with 122 mm and 152 mm calibre artillery shells. Over time, however, they began adding even more dangerous weapons.

Since October 2023, the Russian army has been using North Korean KN-23 ballistic missiles. Their range is estimated to be about 640 kilometres, which makes them better than Russian Iskanders. Each such missile weighs about 3,400 kilograms.

At the end of July 2024, a mysterious vehicle was spotted on the front in Ukraine. It is likely a North Korean Bulse-4 tank destroyer or the newer variant Bulsae-6.

In June of this year, during Vladimir Putin's visit to Pyongyang, both countries signed a mutual defence agreement. Under this agreement, both sides committed to providing each other with immediate support by any means available in the event of external aggression.