North Korea's billion-dollar arms deal fuels Russian war effort
According to the German Friedrich Naumann Foundation, the value of North Korean arms supplies to Russia can be estimated at several billion dollars, and sending troops from North Korea to the country could bring Pyongyang additional profits, the DPA agency reported on Monday.
According to the foundation, the armaments supplied to Moscow by Pyongyang since 2022, the beginning of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, may be worth up to £4 billion.
Moreover, North Korea's revenues could further increase by hundreds of millions of pounds due to the possible dispatch of troops from this country to Ukraine - warned the publication "Putin's Partner".
Help worth billions
For research purposes, Olena Guseinova from the Hankuk University of Foreign Studies in Seoul analysed intelligence reports, disclosed documents, and ammunition prices from previous North Korean arms transactions. Based on this, the researcher estimated the value of North Korean arms supplies to Russia, carried out since February 2022, at £1.2-4 billion.
North Korea does not publish any data on arms exports, which practically makes detailed analyses impossible. South Korean intelligence bases its reports, among other things, on satellite images used to monitor sea deliveries from North Korea to Russia.
Missiles and rockets
According to one of these reports, Pyongyang supports the Russian army primarily with artillery shells and short-range missiles - dpa reported.
"The Ukraine war has worsened the security situation in East Asia. Russia and North Korea are working to destabilize the international order," said Frederic Spohr, head of the Korean branch of the Friedrich Naumann Foundation.
