Russia supplies North Korea with air defense missiles in exchange for soldiers - South Korea

South Korean National Security Advisor Shin Won-sik said on November 22 that russia, among other things, has supplied North Korea with air defense missiles in exchange for deploying its troops to participate in the war against Ukraine. In addition, russia is likely to have supplied more than a million barrels of oil to the DPRK in the first eight months of this year, violating National Security Council resolutions.

It was reported by The New York Times.

"We understand that Russia has provided related equipment and anti-air missiles to shore up the poor air defense for Pyongyang," he said in an interview with the SBS television channel.

It is noted that in recent weeks, North Korea has sent about 11,000 soldiers, some of whom have joined russian troops in the Kursk Oblast of russia, according to official data from South Korea and the United States.

South Korean officials said it has also shipped about 20,000 sea containers of weapons to russia since the summer of 2023, including artillery guns and shells, short-range ballistic missiles and multiple launch rocket systems.

North Korea, in turn, is expected to seek russian help in modernizing its armed forces and advancing its nuclear weapons and missile programs. It says one of the North Korean military’s biggest weaknesses is its poor, outdated air defense system, while the United States and its allies in South Korea and Japan have fleets of high-tech combat aircraft, including the F-35 stealth fighter.

Shin added that russia is also supplying North Korea with other military technology, including helping to improve North Korea’s satellite launch programs. After two failed attempts, North Korea launched its first spy satellite into orbit last November, sparking speculation that Russia was behind the success. But in May, a North Korean rocket carrying another military intelligence satellite exploded in mid-air shortly after liftoff.

South Korea’s national security adviser said North Korea was also suspected of receiving economic aid. Russia is believed to have supplied more than a million barrels of oil to North Korea in the first eight months of this year, in violation of National Security Council resolutions, according to an analysis of satellite images published Friday by the UK’s Open Source Center and the BBC.

Earlier this week, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un met with Alexander Kozlov, russia’s Minister of Natural Resources and Ecology, who was leading a government delegation to Pyongyang. During the meeting, Kim noted that “bilateral solidarity and cooperation have been closer and deepened in different fields” since he and russian president vladimir putin signed a treaty on mutual defense and military cooperation in Pyongyang in June.

In addition, as a symbol of deepening ties between the two countries, russian dictator vladimir putin sent more than 70 animals to North Korea – including bears, domestic yaks and an African lion – as a gift to the Korean people, the propaganda-driven russian news agency TASS said.

As the Ukrainian News agency earlier reported, North Korean troops deployed in russia were estimated to be assigned to moscow’s airborne brigade and marines, and some of the North Korean soldiers had already entered combat.

Recall that on November 4, the Center for Countering Disinformation reported that the Ukrainian Defense Forces had inflicted the first casualties on North Korean military personnel.

To request a correction, please send an email.