(Adnkronos) – Fourteen thousand soldiers, one hundred ballistic missiles and millions of ammunition. This is how North Korea has allegedly helped Russia in the last year to ”terrorize” the Ukrainian population. This is according to a report published by the Multilateral Sanctions Monitoring Team (Msmt), a group of 11 United Nations members created after Russia forced the dissolution of another UN group that monitored the implementation of sanctions against North Korea.
According to the investigation, in 2024 Pyongyang sent Moscow as many as 9 million artillery rounds and ammunition, over 11,000 soldiers last year and another 3,000 soldiers in the first few months of this year. In addition to rocket launchers, vehicles, self-propelled guns and other types of heavy artillery. Added to this is the sending of at least one hundred ballistic missiles “which were subsequently launched in Ukraine to destroy civilian infrastructure and terrorize populated areas such as Kiev and Zaporizhia”, the report reads. The countries that are part of Msmt (Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, New Zealand, South Korea, the United Kingdom and the United States) have appealed to North Korea to demonstrate its ”commitment to meaningful diplomacy”.
“These forms of illicit cooperation between North Korea and Russia have contributed to Moscow’s ability to increase its missile attacks on Ukrainian cities, including targeted attacks on critical civilian infrastructure,” the report reads. In return, Russia has provided North Korea with various weapons and technologies, including air defense equipment, anti-aircraft missiles, electronic warfare systems and refined oil, the report continues. Moscow also provided feedback on Pyongyang’s ballistic missiles, helping to improve their performance.
These actions ”allow North Korea to finance its military programs and further develop its ballistic missile programs, which are themselves prohibited by multiple United Nations Security Council resolutions, and to gain direct experience in modern warfare”, the report reads. Both Russia and North Korea are violating the UN arms embargo and transferring weapons and military equipment through actors and networks that circumvent sanctions, the report claims. The two countries are likely to continue their military cooperation “at least in the near future,” the document underlines. And the West appears increasingly concerned about the possible future implications.
