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After a few months, it appears that the alliance between North Korea and Russia is beneficial for both parties.
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Russia is getting millions of artillery shells to fight Ukraine, a report says.
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But the alliance carries risks for both leaders.
Earlier this week, South Korean intelligence officials provided a preview of the improved Russia-North Korea alliance in practice.
North Korea has sent large quantities of artillery ammunition to Russia, a lifeline in its invasion of Ukraine that has left the country isolated from much of the world.
According to an intelligence report cited by a U.S. intelligence agency, North Korea has sent 13,000 shipping containers to Russia since 2022, possibly containing 6 million shells. South Korean parliament member.
It is a far greater treasure than Ukraine’s Western allies have ever been able to muster, despite being far richer.
Ukraine’s European allies have failed to meet the target of delivering 1 million shells to Ukraine in the year to May 2024.
The North Korean supply line means that Russia can continue its grueling war of attrition in Ukraine for the foreseeable future. analysts say, while trying to undermine international support for Kiev and waiting for Ukraine to run out of ammunition.
And on the other hand, North Korea receives technology to advance despite being a pariah state.
A new use for old weapons
Old-school ammunition has become vital again in Ukraine, where fighting often resembles the grueling trench warfare of World War I. And with both sides firing thousands of bullets a day, volume counts.
Unlike the advanced precision-guided weapons Ukraine has received from its Western allies, grenades do not rely on GPS systems for guidance, and so cannot be countered by electronic warfare units who confuse their coordinates.
North Korea has a large stockpile of it.
“While the DPRK lags behind NATO countries in most areas of military technology, mass production of artillery shell ammunition does not require advanced technology,” Jacob Parakilas, a defense analyst at RAND Europe, told Business Insider.
He said North Korea has been preparing for a resumption of an “existential” war with the US since 1953 and is stockpiling huge supplies for that purpose.
Ukraine’s insatiable need for ammunition means North Korea’s vast stockpile has taken on an unexpected new value, allowing North Korean leader Kim Jong-un to strike a deal with Russian President Vladimir Putin that has proven fruitful for both sides.
In exchange for crates of old-fashioned grenades, Kim receives valuable military technology from the Kremlin.
“Russia can offer some important incentives in terms of technology transfer, which Pyongyang may consider more valuable than a share of its weapons reserves,” Parakilas said.
According to reports, Russia may supply North Korea with satellite technology that would allow it to more accurately monitor and attack military sites of the US and its allies in East Asia.
Russia has also used its diplomatic power as a permanent member of the UN Security Council to protect North Korea. veto in april to obstruct the commission that oversees North Korea’s nuclear program.
Most of the world has long sought to isolate and pressure North Korea to dismantle its nuclear weapons. The Kremlin’s new stance is an abrupt U-turn.
And Kim could further exploit Russia’s need for grenades to acquire more technology that the aging military desperately needs.
“North Korea’s air force, for example, is shockingly small and desperately needs more modern aircraft to be a viable fighting force,” Parakilas explains.
A precarious alliance
But while both leaders are making short-term gains, problems are looming that could derail the alliance.
Although North Korea supplies large quantities of grenades to Russia, the quality is often poor, and there are doubts about North Korea’s ability to maintain supplies.
“Ukrainian sources suggest that the grenades Russia has received from the DPRK are dated – some are believed to have been produced in the 1970s and 1980s – and of poor quality, with a high failure rate,” said Daniel Salisbury, an arms proliferation expert at King’s College London.
And Putin’s decision to reach out to Kim jeopardizes his relationship with his main ally, Chinese leader Xi Jinping.
Analysts told Business Insider in June that Xi views the security alliance between Russia and North Korea with suspicion, fearing it could upset the balance of power in East Asia and trigger a conflict that China would rather avoid.
A Cold War Alliance Renewed
But for now, it’s a relationship that’s benefiting both pariah leaders. It’s a renewal of an alliance formed decades ago when the Kremlin helped arm North Korea to fight the US and its Cold War allies.
“Much of the equipment it produced during that time will still be minimally usable for Russian purposes, as the bulk of the weapons were designed by the Soviet Union and are therefore compatible with what the Russian armed forces use,” Parakilas said.
Read the original article at Company Insider
