Key Points – A new report by the Multilateral Sanctions Monitoring Team (MSMT) reveals Russia provided North Korea with advanced air defense systems, including at least one Pantsir mobile unit and electronic warfare equipment, in exchange for substantial North Korean military support for its war in Ukraine.
-This support reportedly includes 9 million rounds of artillery and rocket launcher ammunition, 200 heavy artillery systems and MLRS, and the deployment of North Korean soldiers (spotted since January 2024, with initial contingents trained in Russia).
-This deepening military cooperation, involving arms transfers and troop deployments, flagrantly violates existing UN sanctions against North Korea.
Now We Know What Russia Gave North Korea In Exchange for Soldiers
When North Korean soldiers were spotted on the battlefield in Ukraine in January 2024, the news hardly came as a surprise.
Russia, facing a manpower shortage and international isolation and having failed to secure the military support of its biggest ally China, could count on just one ally with a bone to pick with the West: the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.
Ukrainian military intelligence at the time revealed how initial deployments consisted of around 1,500 troops who underwent training in eastern Russia before being sent to the front lines in the Kursk region. The soldiers were reportedly integrated into Russian units and operated under Russian command, and multiple sources later confirmed their presence, including South Korean intelligence and Western media outlets.
The alliance made sense: Russia couldn’t secure tangible military support from anywhere else, and North Korea, the most sanctioned country in the world, could provide support in exchange for something from its biggest ally. And now, it looks like we know what Russia gave North Korea in exchange: air defense systems.
North Korea Received Advanced Air Defense Systems
According to a report by the Multilateral Sanctions Monitoring Team (MSMT), a group established in October 2024 to monitor and report on violations of United Nations sanctions against North Korea, Russia has gifted an unspecified number of advanced air defense systems, anti-aircraft missiles, and other forms of electronic warfare equipment.
According to MSMT’s inaugural report, military ties between North Korea and Russia are deepening, with cooperation now extending to mutual arms transfers, troop redeployment, and financial transactions in violation of international sanctions.
Among the most notable transfers so far is the Pantsir air defense system, a mobile platform designed to intercept aircraft, drones, and precision-guided munitions. The MSMT report claims that since November 2024, Russia has transferred at least one Pantsir mobile air defense system and a Pantsir-class combat vehicle to North Korea. The systems were reportedly delivered via Russian military cargo aircraft – a notable development given the recent recorded increase in Russian flights to North Korea.
According to Yang UK, a military analyst from the Asan Institute for Policy Studies in Seoul, South Korea, the Pantsir system may be mounted to a naval vessel in a similar fashion to the recently-installed Pantsir-ME “copy” on North Korea’s new Choe Hyon destroyer.
The MSMT report also revealed that Russia appears to have made the transfer in exchange for 9 million rounds of “mixed artillery and multiple rocket launcher ammunition” provided by North Korea in 2024.
Additionally, the report claimed that 200 North Korean heavy artillery systems, multiple-launch rocket systems, and reload vehicles were sent to Russia.
About the Author:
Jack Buckby is a British author, counter-extremism researcher, and journalist based in New York. Reporting on the U.K., Europe, and the U.S., he works to analyze and understand left-wing and right-wing radicalization, and reports on Western governments’ approaches to the pressing issues of today. His books and research papers explore these themes and propose pragmatic solutions to our increasingly polarized society. His latest book is The Truth Teller: RFK Jr. and the Case for a Post-Partisan Presidency.
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