Kim Jong-un sends Russia millions of artillery shells for Ukraine war ahead of Putin visit

Vladimir Putin is set to visit North Korea for the first time in 24 years. President Putin's only previous trip to Pyongyng was in 2000, the first year of his presidency. The visit has sparked alarm among US and South Korean officials as the two sides forge closer-than-ever military ties and an increasingly powerful alliance.

South Korea revealed this week that its northern neighbour had sent containers holding nearly five million artillery shells to Russia. To compare, the EU has only promised Ukraine a million shells by the end of this year. South Korea’s defense minister said that Russia could drag the war in Ukraine on for years with the help of North Korean military support.

Seoul detected at least 10,000 shipping containers being sent from North Korea to Russia over the past month, which could hold as many as 4.8 million artillery shells that President Putin has used in his bombardment of Ukraine.

Pyongyang also sent dozens of ballistic missiles that Moscow troops could launch against Ukraine.

Earlier this week, Russia asserted its right to develop “very deep” ties with the North.

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told reporters: “It is our neighbour, it is a friendly country with which we are developing bilateral relations. We will continue to do so in an upward direction.

“The potential for the development of our relations is very deep. We believe that our right to develop good relations with our neighbours should not be of concern to anyone and cannot and should not be challenged by anyone”

President Putin has embraced Kim Jong-un as a key ally since Russia became the target of sanctions over its February 2022 invasion of Ukraine. Russia has used its UN Security Council seat to veto tighter sanctions targeting the North’s nuclear and ballistic missile programmes.

Meanwhile, satellite images show Pyongyang preparing for a possible parade to welcome President Putin to the country. Civilian aircraft have also been cleared from the North Korean capital's airport

Officials at the presidential office in Seoul said the visit could happen “in the coming days”. It would mark a reciprocal trip following Kim Jong-un’s weeklong stay in Russia last September

Russia has repeatedly called claims it is using North Korean weapons in Ukraine "absurd" but dozens of debris from missiles in Ukraine proves otherwise.

Kurt Campbell, the US deputy secretary of state, warned that closer military ties between Pyongyang and Moscow would cause further instability in the region. He held an emergency phone call about the impending visit with his South Korean counterpart.

Cheong Seong-chang, a director at the Sejong Institute, said: “If Putin visits Pyongyang, there is a high possibility that North Korea and Russia could upgrade military cooperation to a new level at a time when they are maintaining close military ties.

"Putin is expected to seek closer security cooperation with North Korea, especially military supplies such as artillery shells that are necessary to seize a chance to win."

Kim Jong-un has been spending heavily on his missile program. South Korea's defence minister claims that the North Korean ruler spent almost £800 million on missile tests last year. That figure represents about 4 percent of North Korea’s total economy.