The White House on Wednesday accused North Korea of covertly shipping a “significant number” of artillery shells to Russia in support of its invasion of Ukraine.
National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said the U.S. believes North Korea is “trying to make it appear as though they’re being sent to countries in the Middle East or North Africa.” He declined to provide a specific estimate on the quantity of ammunition being sent to bolster the Russian effort.
Kirby said North Korea “is covertly supplying” the ammunition to Russia, but that, “we’re still monitoring this to determine whether the shipments are actually received.” He added that the U.S. has “an idea” of which country or countries the North may funnel the weapons through but wouldn’t specify, because the administration continues to look at how it might respond to North Korea’s actions.
Kirby insisted the North Korean shipments are “not going to change the course of the war,” citing Western efforts to resupply the Ukrainian military.
