After Iran, Russia buying artillery from North Korea now, says US intelligence

WASHINGTON : Russia is buying millions of artillery shells and rockets from North Korea, according to newly declassified American intelligence, a sign that global sanctions have restricted its supply chains and forced Moscow to turn to pariah states for military supplies.
The disclosure comes days after Russia received initial shipments of Iranian-made drones, some of which American officials said had mechanical problems. US government officials said Russia’s decision to turn to Iran, and now North Korea, was a sign that sanctions and export controls imposed by the US and Europe were hurting Moscow’s ability to obtain supplies for its army.
The US provided few details from the declassified intelligence about the exact weaponry, timing or size of the shipment, and there is no way yet to independently verify the sale. A US official said, beyond short-range rockets and artillery shells, Russia was expected to try to purchase additional North Korean equipment going forward.
“The Kremlin should be alarmed that it has to buy anything at all from North Korea,” said Mason Clark, who leads the Russia team at the Institute for the Study of War.
Both Iran and North Korea are largely cut off from international commerce thanks to US and international sanctions, meaning neither country has much to lose by cutting deals with Russia. Any deal to buy weaponry from North Korea would be a violation of UN resolutions aimed at curbing weapons proliferation from
Pyongyang. It is unclear how much the purchasing from North Korea has to do with export controls.
AUS official said the deal with North Korea showed Moscow’s desperation.