Satellite photos appear to show that North Korea has paused supplying artillery shells to Russia, reports say

• Russian ships transporting North Korean shells to Russia may have paused, analysts say.
• It is believed that North Korea has sent up to three million shells to Russia.
• Russia has become increasingly reliant on North Korea and China for economic and military support.

Russian ships suspected of transporting huge quantities of ammunition and weaponry to Russia have not docked in North Korea since February 12, analysts at the North Korea-focused outlet NK Pro say.

The report, citing satellite imagery analysis, states that four Russian ships — the Lady R, the Angara, the Maia-1, and the Maria — have made at least 32 trips between Rajin port in North Korea and Russia's Dunay and Vostochny ports in the far east of the country.

These shipments appear to have ceased in recent weeks.

It is believed that North Korea has sent up to three million shells to Russia.

"It is unclear if this is due to production problems at North Korea's weapons factories or another issue," wrote the analysts. However, "North Korea does not appear to have delivered containers to the export pier during that time."

The report cautioned that "it also cannot be ruled out that weapons are being transferred to Russia by air or by rail."

The Washington DC-based think tank Institute for the Study of War previously reported that Russia used the Baikal-Amur Railway and the East Siberian Railway to "facilitate cargo transfers from and to China and North Korea."

Russia has faced an increasing shortage of domestically produced ammunition and restricted access to global markets since its invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. As a result, it has become heavily reliant on both China and North Korea "for economic and military support respectively to sustain its war effort," the ISW said.

North Korea is perhaps Russia's largest supplier of weapons

In August 2023, North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un agreed to send Russia weapons in exchange for space technology.

Last month, South Korean Defense Minister Shin Won-sik said North Korean weapons factories were "operating at full capacity" making arms and ammunition for Russia's war.

"While North Korea's arms factories operate at 30% capacity due to shortages of raw materials and power, certain factories are operating at full capacity, which primarily produces weapons and shells for Russia," said Shin in a press briefing.

Shin also stated that North Korea had provided 6,700 containers to Russia since August, amounting to three million rounds of 152 mm artillery shells, Shin said.

Ukraine's ammo famine

Ukraine's chief spy, Kyrylo Budanov, previously told the Financial Times that, to his knowledge, North Korea is now Russia's largest supplier of weapons.

"They did transfer a significant amount of artillery ammunition," he said. "This allowed Russia to breathe a little. Without their help, the situation would have been catastrophic."

Meanwhile, Ukrainian soldiers have been hamstrung by ammunition shortages on the battlefield in recent months.

In January, it was reported that Ukraine is firing just 2,000 rounds a day, while Russia is nearing 10,000 shells. The uptick for Moscow can be explained by increased domestic production and an influx of North Korean weaponry.