The two countries have vowed to expand bilateral relations after North Korea sent troops and weapons in support of Russia’s war against Ukraine.

Some Russian units rely on North Korean artillery shells for half or more of their daily use. This is quite a heavy reliance on North Korean munitions—and underscores the Kremlin’s dependence on foreign support to continue its “special military operation” in Ukraine.

After Russia claimed to have retaken the Kursk region from Ukraine, North Korea acknowledged for the first time that it had sent soldiers to fight in Moscow’s war.