Ukraine Becomes North Korea’s Testing Ground for New War Weapons (Part 1)

According to foreign media reports, Russia’s daily shell usage has increased to five times more than Ukraine’s as the North Korean weapons supply intensifies. It is analyzed that North Korean weapons could be a decisive threat factor that could influence the war between the two countries.

The _New York Times_ (NYT) reported on the 22nd (local time) that the new North Korean missiles provided to Russia are exacerbating the situation as Ukraine, with the second anniversary of Russia’s invasion approaching, struggles with a shortage of weapons and shells.

The missiles provided by North Korea after the North Korea-Russia summit in September last year have begun to be deployed in Ukraine in earnest. It is understood that Russia has fired North Korean missiles at Ukraine three times since the end of last year.

In particular, the most concerning of the supplied weapons is the North Korean missile, and it is pointed out that we should watch whether the North Korean missile has the destructive power to determine the outcome of the war. According to officials from the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), the number of missiles North Korea has provided to Russia so far is less than 50, but it is expected to increase in the future.

The problem is that Russia is feared to be able to suppress Ukraine’s air defense network provided by the West by utilizing North Korean missiles. The Conflict Armament Research (CAR), a British weapons monitoring group, revealed that the North Korean missiles provided this time turned out to be the latest model. U.S. officials also believe that these missiles have proven to be as accurate as the Russian ones.

NATO and the United States had expected that Ukraine’s air defense network would withstand the winter before the introduction of North Korean missiles. However, the NYT pointed out that such calculations will be off if North Korea increases its missile supply and U.S. support for Ukraine is hampered.

North Korean Chairman Kim Jong Un and Russian President Vladimir Putin are shaking hands at the Vostochny Cosmodrome in Amur, Russia, on September 13 last year.

Not only missiles but also shells being provided by North Korea have a significant impact on the situation, according to foreign media analysis. Although many North Korean shells were manufactured decades ago and are often defective, quantity is more important than quality in a war of attrition. Western experts have reported that the maximum daily shell usage of Ukraine and Russia last summer was about 7,000 and 5,000, respectively, but now it is completely reversed to about 2,000 and 10,000.

Russia is recently observed to be using nearly 10,000 shells a day. On the other hand, Ukraine is struggling to fire at a fifth of that level, 2,000 shells. The power has reversed, compared to last summer when Ukraine used much more shells than Russia. At that time, Ukraine fired a maximum of 7,000 shells a day, while Russia fired about 5,000.

The NYT reported in its article that “Russia is exacerbating the Ukraine issue by deploying North Korean weapons,” and “The United States, Europe and other Western countries have serious concerns about North Korean weapons being used at a very vulnerable moment for Ukraine.” They also said, “In South Korea, they say that the war in Ukraine is giving North Korea what it desperately needs.”

The NYT pointed out that Russia is firing an overwhelmingly large number of shells with the help of North Korea, not just missiles. The newspaper said, “Currently, Ukraine is barely firing 2,000 a day, while Russia, with the help of North Korea, is firing about 10,000 a day.”

Meanwhile, Russian President Vladimir Putin is expected to visit North Korea soon to discuss additional weapons support.

To be continued in Part.2…