Today, November 29, russian Defense Minister Andrey Belousov arrived in North Korea on an unannounced visit to meet with the country's top military and political leadership. This visit takes place under the shadow of the alliance treaty between russia and North Korea, which has been ratified and is now fully in effect, and the direct involvement of North Korean troops in the war against Ukraine.
Belousov’s visit raises questions of what else he could possibly be seeking to request from Pyongyang since North Korea is already supplying russia with astronomical quantities of artillery ammunition, ballistic missiles, and heavy weaponry, such as M-1989 Koksan self-propelled 170mm guns.
Read more: SBS: South Korea Doesn't Want to Sell Weapons to Ukraine, What Kyiv Was Hoping to Acquire
Even North Korean special forces are already fighting alongside russian troops. The DPRK seems willing to meet all of russia's military needs and wants in exchange for nuclear technologies (among other benefits), which poses a catastrophic threat to South Korea.
For now, all that is known about this visit is that Belousov held a protocol meeting with the head of the DPRK Ministry of Defense, No Kwang-chol.
However, the composition of the russian delegation hints at the focus of these talks. Deputy Minister Aleksey Krivoruchko, responsible for logistics and procurement, and Major General Alexey Volkov, head of the Main Missile and Artillery Directorate (GRAU), are key participants.
This suggests the discussions will likely center around expanding the scope and scale of North Korea’s artillery and missile support to russia.
Not surprising, as russia has previously shown that it needs not only to reinforce solely its missile and artillery component but also has appetites for a much broader variety of weapons from the DPRK. For example, recent reports indicate that the russian army has even acquired Type 73 machine guns, a North Korean design from the 1970s.
The critical question remains: what does North Korea expect in return for its expanding military support? This should be a significant concern for South Korea. Still, South Korea appears steadfast in its arms export policies and has allegedly refused to sell defensive systems to Ukraine the other day.
Read more: North Korea Receives Nuclear Technologies from russia in Exchange for Sending Soldiers, Posing a Catastrophic Threat to South Korea
