Over two and a half years, North Korea supplied the Russian army with millions of shells, reports the Riga-based Russian-language émigré media "Important Stories" and the British research center Open Source Centre, which reviewed documents regarding the movements of vessels involved in the transportation of ammunition, according to LETA citing RFE/RL.
Since the summer of 2023, four Russian vessels have made at least 112 trips to North Korea, during which Russia received between eight and 11 million shells.
On average, this amounted to about 350,000 shells per month, and experts estimate that such a volume could sustain the Russian army for approximately one month of offensive operations.
The supplies from North Korea involved the companies "MG-Flot" and "Sovfraht."
Since the fall of 2024, supplies from North Korea began to decline, and by early 2026, journalists recorded only one such trip.
This may be related to Russia increasing its own shell production or to the depletion of North Korea's stockpiles.
In the fall of 2024, reports emerged of thousands of North Korean soldiers being sent to Russia and their participation in combat operations against Ukraine.
After Russian troops regained part of the Kursk region, previously occupied by the Ukrainian army, in 2025, the Kremlin and Pyongyang confirmed that North Korean military personnel participated in the war on Russia's side on its territory.
