In the shadow of the Ukraine war’s grinding artillery duels, an unexpected player has emerged from the margins of global affairs to the center of the battlefield: North Korea. Once isolated, ideologically rigid, and diplomatically estranged, the reclusive regime in Pyongyang is now a critical cog in Moscow’s war machine. According to a damning new report titled “Brothers in Arms” by the UK-based Open Source Centre (OSC), North Korea has morphed from symbolic ally to operational lynchpin—supplying nearly half of Russia’s artillery ammunition used on the Ukrainian front.
From August 2023 to March 2025, North Korea shipped at least 15,809 containers to Russia, according to OSC’s satellite imagery analysis and shipping data. That translates to between 4.2 and 5.8 million rounds of artillery shells—mainly 122mm and 152mm munitions. At the current pace of 750 containers per month, Pyongyang is feeding Russia’s guns with as many as 783,000 rounds every quarter.
In comparison, Western support to Ukraine looks paltry. Since the full-scale invasion began in February 2022, the United Kingdom has delivered roughly 500,000 artillery rounds, while Germany has supplied around 450,000. Combined, their output still falls short of North Korea’s munitions pipeline in less than two years.
“It’s not just the volume—it’s the regularity,” says OSC senior analyst Daniel Kwan. “North Korea’s shipments are enabling Russia to keep up a rate of fire that would have collapsed under the weight of Western sanctions and domestic production constraints.”
The journey from North Korean factories to Ukrainian trenches runs through a well-established corridor.
Cargo ships such as Angara, Lady R, Maria, and Maia-1 ferry military containers from the North Korean port of Rason to Russia’s Dunay and Vostochny ports in the Far East. From there, the cargo is transferred onto trains and hauled westward across Russia’s extensive railway network, eventually arriving at military depots near the Ukrainian border.
Satellite imagery reviewed by OSC, corroborated with 3D modeling of container storage and unloading sites, confirms the content of these shipments: crates of artillery shells, mortars, and even ballistic missile components.
“We’ve documented multiple storage yards overflowing with North Korean crates, some clearly labeled in Hangul,” says Kwan. “These aren’t humanitarian supplies. They’re weapons of war—delivered with chilling efficiency.”
North Korea’s support isn’t limited to conventional artillery. Ukrainian intelligence, corroborated by open-source military footage and intercepted communications, points to a wide-ranging arsenal of additional supplies:
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148 ballistic missiles, including the KN-23 and KN-24, both capable of hitting targets with high precision and with ranges up to 400 kilometers.
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120 long-range self-propelled artillery systems, many of which resemble Soviet-era models refurbished in North Korea’s arsenals.
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120 multiple rocket launch systems, designed for rapid saturation bombardment across wide areas.
But perhaps the most shocking development came in early 2024, when NATO intelligence confirmed the presence of approximately 11,000 North Korean troops in western Russia—allegedly deployed to assist in defending the Kursk region from Ukrainian incursions. Reports suggest these are not just support personnel.
According to battlefield assessments, at least 1,500 North Korean troops have been killed, with another 3,500 wounded, pointing to frontline combat roles.
“This isn’t just training or observation. These are active combat units,” a senior NATO official told Reuters under condition of anonymity. “We’re looking at a proxy co-belligerent in all but name.”
The relationship between Moscow and Pyongyang is not charity. It’s barter. It’s strategic.
In exchange for the steady stream of artillery shells and manpower, Russia is believed to be offering a wide array of technological assistance to North Korea:
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Satellite launch support, possibly using Russian rocket components and guidance software.
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Advanced military hardware, including outdated—but still potent—tanks, jet fighters, and surface-to-air missile systems.
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Electronic warfare systems, which North Korea has begun deploying in tests against simulated targets.
U.S. and South Korean intelligence agencies have reported notable advances in North Korea’s missile accuracy and satellite capabilities since late 2023. In particular, Pyongyang’s 2024 satellite launch, which successfully entered a stable orbit and transmitted imagery back to Earth, is seen as a watershed moment—almost certainly enabled by Russian technical support.
“North Korea is rapidly moving from a regional nuisance to a credible strategic actor,” said Col. James Mercer, a retired U.S. military intelligence officer. “And that’s largely thanks to this war-for-tech arrangement with Russia.”
The implications go far beyond the Donbas trenches.
Western officials have begun referring to the emerging Moscow-Pyongyang-Beijing dynamic as an “authoritarian military triangle.” While China has stopped short of overt military shipments, its economic backing of both Russia and North Korea has undergirded this network of cooperation.
“China may not be sending shells, but it’s keeping both regimes afloat,” says a European defense attaché based in Seoul.
In response, the U.S., Japan, and South Korea have intensified trilateral defense coordination, holding joint naval exercises, integrating missile defense networks, and sharing intelligence on North Korean and Russian activities. The U.S. has also quietly surged surveillance assets into the Pacific and Eastern Europe to monitor this new axis of coordination.
“This is no longer about Ukraine alone,” said Bonnie Jenkins, U.S. Under Secretary of State for Arms Control and International Security. “This is about preventing a multipolar, militarized bloc that threatens stability from Eastern Europe to the Pacific Rim.”
North Korea’s military-industrial complex was long seen as outdated, inefficient, and under-resourced. But that view is now outdated.
Under Supreme Leader Kim Jong Un, North Korea has retooled its factories into 24/7 war-production centers. According to defectors and satellite heat maps, industrial zones in the cities of Hamhung, Chongjin, and Wonsan have seen record activity levels since mid-2023.
This production spree doesn’t just fund the regime—it cements Pyongyang’s strategic relevance.
“North Korea has rewritten the rules of its isolation,” says Rachel Lin, a senior fellow at the International Crisis Group. “Instead of pleading for sanctions relief, it’s exporting war. And it’s getting paid in power.”
The North Korea-Russia alliance sets a dangerous precedent: that a heavily sanctioned regime can sidestep diplomatic isolation by providing a critical wartime service to another pariah power. The international rules-based order, already strained by years of geopolitical realignment, now faces an acute dilemma.
Should Western nations prioritize degrading Russia’s military capability or isolating North Korea further? Can both be done simultaneously without overextending supply chains and military stockpiles?
“Every shell Pyongyang makes prolongs the war and strengthens Moscow’s hand,” said Gen. Mark Carleton, NATO’s logistics coordinator. “This isn’t a side story—it’s the story.”
Diplomatic solutions remain elusive. Efforts at the U.N. Security Council are routinely blocked by Russia and China. Sanctions enforcement on North Korea is porous, especially at sea, where flagged ships change identities or operate under third-country charters.
Some Western analysts are urging a bolder strategy: targeting the maritime logistics chain with interdictions, expanding cyber operations against North Korean production hubs, or even considering airstrikes against key transit points—though that would mark a major escalation.
“There are no easy answers,” said Lin. “But what’s clear is this: North Korea is no longer just a menace in East Asia. It’s a pivotal player in Europe’s bloodiest conflict since World War II.”
As the war in Ukraine drags into its fourth year, with no clear end in sight, the battlefield is being shaped not just in Kyiv, Moscow, or Washington—but also in Pyongyang.
North Korea has become a cornerstone of Russia’s military survival. In doing so, it has transformed from a hermit kingdom into a hinge of war—swinging the balance not only in Eastern Europe but potentially across the entire global security order.
The world can no longer afford to underestimate Kim Jong Un’s regime. It’s no longer just testing missiles. It’s fueling wars. And it’s changing the rules of what small, sanctioned states can do in a world where great powers are willing to barter blood for bullets.
