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Putin’s ship docks in secret.
The cargo is said to be upwards of 50 years old.
And according to Ukraine, it barely works.
Putin relies in part on weapons from reclusive North Korea in the massive shelling of Ukraine.
South Korean intelligence is now investigating reports that Kim Jong-Un and his nightmare regime are selling artillery shells from the 1970s to Russia to use in the war, writes Newsweek.
Do not have time to produce themselves
According to reports in the South Korean press, “it is analyzing the relevant circumstances in detail and also continues to monitor the overall military cooperation between North Korea and Russia.”
Russia is said to have greatly adjusted its production since the invasion began and is producing quantities of grenades themselves.
But in the heavy artillery bombardment of Ukrainian targets, it is not possible to produce at the rate that the Russian military demands.
Therefore, Russia has turned to the closed country with which, unlike in principle the rest of the world, it has good relations.
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fullscreen Russian military fires rockets during an artillery and combat training exercise in Belarus. Photo: Russian Defense Ministry Press Service Via AP/TT
Three million grenades
South Korea’s Defense Minister Shin Won-sik stated earlier this year that North Korea shipped off an estimated 6,700 containers containing upwards of three million artillery shells.
Russian cargo ships are said to have acted as “ghost ships” with their transponders switched off. Satellite surveillance shows them loading containers at North Korean ports, writes Newsweek.
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full screen Freighter at anchor in the Sea of Marmara. Photo: Khalil Hamra/AP/TT
Ukraine’s intelligence service has previously stated that half of the North Korean artillery shells delivered to the battlefield are not working.
It is also stated that the agreement is a real win for Kim Jong-Un, who both gets rid of old, half-useless ammunition – but also receives Russian technology needed for the country’s submarine production in return.
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full screen Russia is one of the few countries with good relations with North Korea. Here, the countries’ leaders shake hands during a meeting last autumn. Photo: Korean Central News Agency/News Service Via AP/TT
North Korean robot
But it is not just grenades that North Korea is said to have sent to Russia.
The British organization Conflict Armament Research stated last winter that it had identified a North Korean robot among wreckage in Kharkiv.
In addition, the Ukrainian military believes that attacks with North Korean robots have killed several dozen and injured around 70 people in Ukraine.
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full screen Image from an artillery exercise in North Korea earlier this year. Photo: Korean Central News Agency/News Service Via AP/TT