{"id":74098,"date":"2023-09-10T14:50:22","date_gmt":"2023-09-10T14:50:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/uncategorized\/2023\/09\/10\/russia-turning-to-north-korea-to-resupply-arsenal-for-war-in-ukraine\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T15:48:14","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T15:48:14","slug":"russia-turning-to-north-korea-to-resupply-arsenal-for-war-in-ukraine","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/flashpoints\/2023\/09\/10\/russia-turning-to-north-korea-to-resupply-arsenal-for-war-in-ukraine\/","title":{"rendered":"Russia turning to North Korea to resupply arsenal for war in Ukraine"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

After a year and a half of fighting in Ukraine<\/a>, Russia needs to replenish its supplies of ammunition for what could be a long war of attrition. Along with ramping up its domestic arms production, Moscow is turning to an old ally with a vast arsenal \u2014 North Korea<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Estimates say the reclusive and isolated Asian country has tens of millions of artillery shells and rockets that could give a huge boost to the Russian army.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

U.S. officials expect North Korean leader Kim Jong Un to visit Russia in the coming days<\/a> to seal a possible deal on munitions transfer with President Vladimir Putin. That would be a remarkable reversal from the 1950-53 Korean War, when the Soviet Union provided the communist North with weapons and ammunition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe know that Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu has visited recently for artillery shells predominantly, and most likely that will be discussed between Putin and Kim Jong Un,\u201d said Alexander Gabuev, head of the Carnegie Russia Eurasia Center.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"In
FILE – In this photo provided by the North Korean government, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, center right, and Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, front left, visit an arms exhibition in Pyongyang, North Korea Wednesday, July 26, 2023. Shoigu visited Pyongyang in what the U.S. saw as part of Moscow’s efforts to negotiate for supplies of North Korean munitions. (Korean Central News Agency\/Korea News Service via AP, File)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Shoigu became the first Russian defense chief to visit North Korea since the 1991 collapse of the Soviet Union. Images of him at a military parade<\/a> in the capital, Pyongyang, in July, alongside Kim and the medal-laden North Korean military brass, was a strong sign of a vigorous effort by Moscow to reach out to the North. Shoigu said that joint military drills were possible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Asked about a possible visit by Kim and a deal that would see North Korean arms supplies to Russia, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov refused to comment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But he emphasized that Moscow cherishes ties with Pyongyang, adding: \u201cNorth Korea is our neighbor, and we will further develop our relations without looking back at other countries\u2019 opinion.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kim made his first visit to Russia in 2019 and held talks with Putin that included pledges of closer cooperation but weren\u2019t followed by any visible breakthroughs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While the bulk of the Korean People\u2019s Army arsenals are dated, their enormous size would offer the Russian military a potential key lifeline amid Europe\u2019s largest land conflict since World War II.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hong Min, an analyst at Seoul\u2019s Korea Institute for National Unification, said that Russia could seek to establish North Korea as a \u201crear base\u201d for its war efforts, providing a major flow of munitions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cRussia is hoping that North Korea could swiftly establish support channels to provide it with war materials like ammunition, bombs and other supplies,\u201d Hong said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The U.S. said North Korea sold some munitions<\/a> to Russia\u2019s private military contractor, Wagner, in November. Both Russian and North Korean officials have denied that Pyongyang has shipped any weapons or munitions to Russia<\/a> or intends to do so.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

U.S. officials have cast Moscow\u2019s reach for North Korean weapons as a reflection of Russian military problems. White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan said the quality of North Korean weapons was an \u201copen question.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt says a lot that Russia is having to turn to a country like North Korea to seek to bolster its defense capacity in a war that it expected be over in a week,\u201d Sullivan said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jon Finer, U.S. President Joe Biden\u2019s chief deputy national security adviser, told reporters on Sunday that buying weapons from Pyongyang \u201cmay be the best and may be the only option\u201d open to Moscow as it tries to keep its war effort going. Finer made the remarks aboard Biden\u2019s flight from India to Vietnam.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While Washington has warned Pyongyang against sending weapons to Russia, which would violate a U.N. embargo on any arms shipments to and from North Korea, observers say there is little the U.S. could do in response.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

They note that Moscow could share advanced nuclear, missile and submarine technology with Pyongyang<\/a> in exchange for arms supplies, a move that could embolden Kim and raise major threats to regional security.<\/p>\n\n\n\t