Greece Pentapostagma said on February 27 that North Korea has given Russia a large number of arms, North Korea has vigorously supported Russia during the Russia-Ukraine war, and North Korean factories that produce artillery for Russia are all operating at full capacity, and since July 2023, North Korea has shipped about 6,700 containers with millions of bullets to Russia.
The news sparked widespread concern around the world, including the United States, South Korea, and a number of other countries that have strongly criticized North Korea's actions.
Why is North Korea helping Russia? In Asia, where the DPRK has a much stronger army, why would it give Russia so much arms? South Korean Defense Minister Shin Won-sik speculated that in exchange, North Korea provided food support to Russia for one of its main purposes.
South Korea's Yonhap News Agency reported that Shin Won-sik claimed on the same day that North Korea had shipped about 6,700 containers to Russia to help Russia strike Ukraine, including more than 3 million 152 mm ammunition and 500,000 122 mm artillery.
Shin also noted that from July to August this year, Russia has shipped about 9,000 containers to North Korea, including food, supplies and components.
Does North Korea take a different view of the food issue? On February 20, Russian spokesman Dmitry Peskov said: "North Korea and Russia are neighbors, and we want to develop ties with neighboring countries, including North Korea." "Russian Defense Minister Alexander. Fuming also said that continuing to expand exchanges with the DPRK is beneficial to the two countries and the peoples of both sides, and the joint efforts of Russia and the DPRK are beneficial to peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula and in Northeast Asia.
From these words, we can see that North Korea may also want to use Russia's power to increase its influence in the world and gain more space and time for its nuclear program.
Both Russia and North Korea have denied it.
While North Korea has confirmed the large number of arms for Russia, both Russia and North Korea have refused to acknowledge the accusations from the outside and said they are committed to better military coordination rather than fighting Ukraine.
U.S. intelligence agencies recently claimed that it had detected more than 1,000 Russian missiles from North Korea that had been used by Russia to strike key targets inside Ukraine. In response, both Russia and the DPRK said that this was a lie and slander concocted by the United States to damage the friendship between Russia and the DPRK.
In addition to North Korea, Iran has been accused of giving Russia many surface-to-surface missiles in support of the brutal war it is waging. According to Reuters and other well-known international news agencies, Iran has sent hundreds of missiles to Russia, and the spokeswoman of the US National Security Council, John Kirby, said harshly: Iran continues to support Russia, and in the coming days, we will increase sanctions against Iran. 」
However, on February 23, Iran's permanent representative to the United Nations denied the Reuters report, saying that Tehran believed it had fulfilled its responsibilities and would not add fuel to the fire of the conflict between Russia and Ukraine.
The future of the Russia-Ukraine war Regardless of whether North Korea or Iran has military assistance to Russia or not, Russia's victory over Ukraine looks a foregone conclusion.
There is a huge difference in military power between Russia and Ukraine, which makes it difficult for Ukraine to defend itself against a Russian offensive. On the 27th, Vadim Skibitsky, deputy director of the CIA of Ukraine, said that due to the confirmation of 48 Iskander ballistic rocket launchers in the Russian-Ukrainian border area, Russia may launch a large-scale attack, and the current tension in the Ukrainian-Russian border area is increasing.
If true, Ukraine would be in greater danger, and it is unclear whether Russia will be able to stop its invasion quickly.