Russian forces received “thousands of ammunition containers” from North Korea – US envoy to NATO

The latest report by US officials, confirmed by satellite footage, says North Korea has delivered over a thousand containers of military equipment and munitions to Russia.

US Ambassador to NATO Julianne Smith announced this on Wednesday during an online briefing, Ukrinform reports.

"We have new information that the DPRK has recently supplied additional weapons to Russia for use in the war against Ukraine. According to our information, the DPRK has transferred more than a thousand containers of military equipment and ammunition to Russia," the US envoy said.

Smith also reported the availability of satellite images showing the movement of these containers from North Korea to Russia on cargo ships.

"We condemn the DPRK for providing Russian with this military equipment, which will be used to attack Ukrainian cities and kill Ukrainian civilians and further Russia's illegitimate war," said White House adviser John Kirby.

The United States believes that Pyongyang wants to receive other military technologies from Moscow in exchange for ammunition. Its"wish list" includes jet fighters, surface-to-air missiles, armored vehicles, equipment for producing ballistic missiles, and other weapons.

The US will continue to monitor the developments and detect any attempts by Pyongyang to supply arms to Russia.

As Bloomberg reported, back in October, North Korea has sent over 1 million artillery shells to Russia. Deliveries began in August of this year.

Ants Kiviselg, the head of the Estonian Defense Forces Intelligence Center, noted that Russia has four million artillery shells, which is enough for a year of low-intensity war.

The Lithuanian Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis said that North Korea has already supplied more ammunition to Russia than the EU has supplied to Ukraine.

According to the General Staff, Russian forces are forced to use low-quality artillery and mortar shells from North Korea due to a lack of their own stocks.