North Korea has supplied Russia with around 5,000 containers of munitions over the last six months, the ROK military has assessed, underscoring Pyongyang’s continued support for the war against Ukraine.

The new shipments bring the number of containers that the DPRK has provided to roughly 33,000 as of February, up from 28,000 containers in August, according to analysis by Seoul’s Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) provided to the office of ROK lawmaker Kang Dae-sik.

The 33,000 containers can hold an estimated 15 million rounds of 152mm shells, the DIA said, up from 12 million shells in August.

Despite the continued deliveries, the speed of DPRK weapons shipments has slowed down since the peak in 2024. That year, North Korea sent 7,000 containers between August and October, as well as 6,000 containers between March and August.

North Korea has provided Russia with “220 artillery systems, like 170 mm self-propelled guns and 240mm multiple rocket launchers,” the DIA said, noting the DPRK’s “continuous” deliveries of “122mm and 152mm artillery shells, Bulsae-4 anti-tank missiles, short-range ballistic missiles and RPG anti-tank rockets.”

However, the ROK military pointed to signs that the allies’ cooperation “in core military technologies and advanced industrial facilities falls short of North Korea’s expectations.”

In addition to providing ammunition, the ROK military assessed that North Korea has now deployed a total of 16,000 troops to aid its ally in the Kursk region. Some of the dispatched troops are currently involved in border security missions, according to the DIA readout. 

Kyiv similarly assessed in early February that a group of DPRK soldiers was active in the border region, mainly engaging in artillery and drone strikes, as well as reconnaissance.

The DIA noted that around 1,000 military engineers who returned to Pyongyang in December may be redeployed to Kursk. This assessment mirrors Russian officials’ expectation for DPRK deminers to arrive in the spring.

The DIA’s estimate of 16,000 troops is also roughly in line with that of U.K. Defense Minister John Healey, who placed it at 17,000 early last month. Pyongyang initially deployed some 12,000 soldiers to Russia in Oct. 2024 and followed up with several thousand more in reinforcements in the following months.

At the same time, another 1,000 construction workers have moved to Russia and are currently carrying out reconstruction projects in the region, according to the DIA.

NK Pro analysis of satellite imagery recently found that suspected North Korean shipments of military equipment out of the port of Rason slowed to just one in January, with no detected vessel visits to the port in February despite containers piling up.

It is possible that North Korea and Russia have redirected much of their munitions traffic to the nearby rail link across the Tumen River.

The two countries are also constructing a new car bridge next to the rail bridge, possibly seeking to ramp up economic and military exchanges. The latest satellite imagery from Planet Labs indicates that the allies recently linked the two sides of the bridge, aiming at a grand opening in June.

Jooheon Kim contributed reporting to this story. Edited by Bryan Betts