The chief of the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command reportedly said North Korea provided ballistic missiles and artillery shells to support Russia’s war in Ukraine and will receive advanced air defense equipment in return. 

According to Ukraine’s daily Kyiv Post on Monday, Adm. Samuel Paparo conveyed the information during a briefing for the U.S. Senate Armed Services Committee on Thursday. 

Paparo reportedly said North Korea has sent hundreds of short-range ballistic missiles and hundreds of thousands of artillery shells to support Russia’s war and that in return, it will receive advanced air defense equipment, including surface-to-air missile systems and other technology.

The commander said the kinds of systems Russia has offered have not been confirmed, but that even second-tier Russian systems would improve North Korea’s ability to defend itself from aerial threats.

He described the alliance between Moscow and Pyongyang as “a transactional symbiosis,” with each side compensating for the other’s weaknesses.