North Korea likely supplied Russia with millions of artillery shells — South Korean military intelligence

North Korea has provided Russia with approximately 28,000 containers of weapons and artillery shells, according to a report from Ukraine’s Military Intelligence Agency.

“If we take into account individual 152 mm shells, the number of munitions supplied is estimated to exceed 12 million,” the agency said in a statement.

On May 29, the Multilateral Sanctions Monitoring Group reported that in 2024, Russia received up to 9 million artillery shells and other ammunition from North Korea, including 122 mm and 152 mm rounds, as well as 100 ballistic missiles.

North Korea sent military personnel to support Russia’s war against Ukraine in the fall of 2024, according to intelligence reports from several countries. An estimated 10,000 to 12,000 North Korean soldiers were deployed. Since then, the contingent has suffered significant losses on the battlefield.

On Jan. 11, 2025, Ukrainian Defense Forces operating in Russia’s Kursk Oblast captured the first known North Korean soldiers. They were transported to Kyiv for interrogation by the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU).

On March 27, South Korea’s Armed Forces reported that North Korea had likely sent an additional 3,000 troops to Russia in January and February to support the war effort.

On April 26, Russia officially acknowledged for the first time the participation of North Korean troops in its war against Ukraine. The confirmation came from Chief of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces Valery Gerasimov in a report to Vladimir Putin regarding the alleged "liberation" of Kursk Oblast.

Gerasimov said the presence of North Korean forces is in line with the Treaty on Comprehensive Strategic Partnership between the Russian Federation and the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.