The South Korean military says it has detected signs that North Korea provided weapons to Russia through the regime's northeastern Rajin port.

A military official in Seoul told reporters on Thursday that signs of the transfer were discerned since mid-2022, adding that active maritime delivery has been identified since August of this year immediately prior to regime leader Kim Jong-un's visit to Russia the next month.

Over two-thousand containers carrying weapons are estimated to have been sent to Russia through the port, with a presumed capacity to accommodate over 200-thousand rounds of 122-millimeter artillery shells or over one million rounds of 152-millimeter shells.

North Korea is also assumed to have supplied T-series tank ammunition, anti-tank guided missiles, rocket launchers, rifles, machine guns and possibly short-range ballistic missiles.

Russia, in return, may offer technological support for the regime’s military satellite, nuclear weapons, fighter jets and air defense systems.

The official said Pyongyang is expected to first receive food and fuel supplies to secure stability within the regime and to prepare for the upcoming winter, after which the two sides are likely to discuss Moscow’s military technology transfer, support for the modernization of conventional forces and joint training.

[Photo : YONHAP News]