The head of Ukraine's Defense Intelligence Agency, Budanov, indicated that the cooperation between North Korea and Russia is deepening, with about 40% of the ammunition used by Russian troops on the battlefield in Ukraine coming from North Korea. He noted that North Korea not only supplies a large amount of ammunition to Russia but also exports ballistic missiles and artillery systems. In exchange, Moscow provides funding and technology to help Kim Jong-un overcome international sanctions and isolation while strengthening military research and development of nuclear weapons.

Moreover, recent data from the Ukrainian military intelligence suggests that up to 60% of the recent battle losses are attributed to artillery systems produced by North Korea. Although Bloomberg reports that it is difficult to verify the specific data on arms obtained by Russia from North Korea, the frequent visits of senior Russian officials to North Korea indicate that the two countries are continuing to strengthen their cooperation. The Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov arrived in North Korea on the 11th to begin a three-day visit, marking the latest in a series of visits by Russian officials to Pyongyang.

Additionally, Ukrainian intelligence has indicated that North Korea plans to send 25,000 to 30,000 troops to support Russia.