Evidence mounts of North Korean arms to Russia in threat for Ukraine

US intelligence reports have been corroborated by the Royal United Services Institute (Rusi), a London-based thinktank that last week published a report that concluded: “Russia has likely begun shipping North Korean munitions at scale.” ... “If confirmed, North Korea’s supplying of significant quantities of munitions to Moscow could have profound consequences for the war in Ukraine,” said Joe Byrne, a research analyst at Rusi. “Russia wouldn’t be going to the North Koreans if they did’n’t have to … For the Russians, a major North Korean supply line will alleviate their munition hunger.” Maj Patrick Hinton, an artillery officer in the British army and recent visiting fellow at Rusi who closely studies the war in Ukraine, said North Korea had a large stockpile of artillery shells and rockets that were compatible with the Soviet and Russian weapons systems being used by Moscow. ... “For Russia, the supply of strike munitions is increasing. In October 2022, Russia was producing approximately 40 long-range missiles a month. Now it is producing over 100 a month,” wrote Jack Watling, a senior research fellow for land warfare at Rusi, in a recent report entitled Ukraine Must Prepare for a Hard Winter.