A new report by the Multilateral Sanctions Monitoring Team (MSMT), an 11-member UN initiative, has exposed the scale of North Korea’s military support to Russia in its ongoing war against Ukraine.
The report, released Thursday, details that Pyongyang has supplied Russia with approximately 9 million rounds of artillery and ammunition, over 100 ballistic missiles, rocket launchers, self-propelled guns, and other heavy artillery in 2024 alone.
Additionally, around 20,000 cargo containers of military equipment have been transferred via Russian cargo ships, violating UN sanctions.
The MSMT report highlights North Korea’s deployment of 11,000 troops to Russia last year, with an additional 3,000 sent in early 2025.
These troops, notably active in Russia’s Kursk region since November, withdrew from front lines in January following reports of heavy casualties, as confirmed by Ukrainian officials.
In exchange, Russia has provided North Korea with air defense equipment, anti-aircraft missiles, electronic warfare systems, and refined oil.
The report notes, “These forms of unlawful cooperation between (North Korea) and Russia contributed to Moscow’s ability to increase its missile attacks against Ukrainian cities including targeted strikes against critical civilian infrastructure.”
Both nations are accused of breaching UN arms embargoes, with the report citing evidence from the Open Source Centre (OSC) and Conflict Armament Research (CAR).
The MSMT alleges that Russia’s battlefield data feedback has enhanced North Korea’s ballistic missile guidance systems, stating
At least for the foreseeable future, North Korea and Russia intend to continue and further deepen their military cooperation in contravention of relevant UN security council resolutions.
Multilateral Sanctions Monitoring Team (MSMT).
This partnership has raised alarms among Western governments about a growing strategic alliance.
The MSMT, comprising nations including the US, Japan, and South Korea, urged North Korea to “engage in meaningful diplomacy.”
Meanwhile, Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy criticized Russia’s delay in presenting a peace memorandum, stating:
Even the so-called memorandum they promised and seemingly prepared for more than a week has still not been seen by anyone … despite promises to the contrary, first and foremost to the United States of America, to President Trump. Yet another Russian deception
Volodymyr Zelenskyy.