SEOUL: North Korea recently supplied additional artillery systems to Russia to support its war efforts against Ukraine, while some of the thousands of North Korean troops deployed in Russia have begun engaging in combat, South Korea’s spy agency told lawmakers on Wednesday.
The South Korean assessment came after Russia warned on Monday that US President Joe Biden’s decision to let Ukraine strike targets inside Russia with US-supplied longer-range missiles adds “fuel to the fire” of the war.
US officials said Biden’s decision was triggered almost entirely by North Korea’s entry into the war.
In a closed-door briefing at parliament, the National Intelligence Service said that North Korea exported 170mm self-propelled guns and 240mm multiple rocket launch systems to Russia, according to lawmaker Lee Seong Kweun, who attended the meeting.
Lee told reporters that the NIS assessed those weapons are a type of artillery the Russian military doesn’t operate so North Korea likely dispatched personnel to teach the Russians how to use them and handle their maintenance.
Last week, Russian Telegram channels and other social media posts published photos apparently showing North Korean’s “Koksan” 170mm self-propelled guns being moved by rail inside Russia.
The Financial Times, citing Ukrainian intelligence assessments, reported on Sunday that North Korea in recent weeks sent some 50 domestically produced 170mm self-propelled howitzers and 20 240mm multiple launch rocket systems to Russia.
The US, Ukraine and others have similar estimates on the size of North Korea’s troop deployment.
Agencies