Artillery shells believed to be made in North Korea appeared on Russian state television. /Russian broadcaster Yonhap News
There was a foreign media report that a Russian state broadcaster showed Russian soldiers on the Ukrainian front using weapons that appeared to be North Korean artillery shells. So far, Russia has denied allegations of importing North Korean weapons.
NK News, an American media outlet specializing in North Korea, reported on the 1st (local time), “Several images and videos released by Russian media outlets in recent weeks show various types of North Korean-made rockets and artillery shells being used against Ukraine.”
A Russian state broadcast video from the 25th of last month showed Russian soldiers moving a 152mm artillery shell of unknown manufacturer near Luhansk, an area controlled by pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine.
Regarding this, Joost Olimans, a North Korean weapons expert, claimed that the shells in question were North Korean-made, saying, “North Korean-made shells are painted bright blue and have the characteristic of using plastic in the charging case.”
It is said that this is the first time a weapon with such characteristics has been shown in the Ukraine war. Olymans said, “I think (the suspicion that North Korea provided weapons to Russia) has now been clearly proven beyond the level of reasonable doubt.”
Russian troops have often been seen using North Korean weapons on Telegram channels that cover information about the war in Ukraine, but some say it is unusual for them to appear on state broadcast.
According to Olymans, at the end of October last year, an image of a North Korean-made 152mm multiple rocket launcher was posted on a pro-Russian Telegram channel supporting the war in Ukraine, and in December of the same year, a North Korean-made 122mm rocket was posted on a video on the Russian Ministry of Defense’s social media. There was an incident where a visible weapon was photographed.
However, NK News reported that the Russian government is officially denying the allegations that it imported North Korean weapons in violation of UN sanctions, emphasizing that it is a “responsible member of the international community.”
North Korean Workers’ Party General Secretary Kim Jong-un (left) and Russian President Vladimir Putin visited Russia for the North Korea-Russia summit in September last year./Rodong Shinmun News 1
Meanwhile, there were also foreign media reports that revealed that North Korea and Russia had continued to trade arms through ‘ghost ships’, avoiding the eyes of the international community until recently.
According to Bloomberg News, satellite photos of North Korea’s Rajin Port, which the U.S. identified as a suspected location for North Korea-Russia arms trade, confirmed that Russian ships were steadily coming and going from October of last year to early December, carrying hundreds of shipping containers. Bloomberg reported that most of the Russian ships captured in satellite photos have their transponders turned off and are operating as ‘ghost ships’ that are not detected by maritime radar.
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2024-01-01 22:18:00
