FT reports N. Korea's supply of self-propelled artillery and rocket launchers to Russia, some deployed to battlefront in Kursk

[Anchor]

Reports have emerged that the DPRK has provided self-propelled artillery and multiple rocket launchers to Russia, some of which have been deployed to the Kursk battlefront.

If the DPRK has sent artillery units, it indicates a larger scale of deployment.

This is reporter Ahn Da-young.

[Report]

The British daily Financial Times reported that the DPRK has supplied self-propelled artillery and upgraded multiple rocket launchers to Russia.

It is said that 50 units of 170mm self-propelled artillery produced in 1989 and 20 units of upgraded 240mm multiple rocket launchers were sent.

The report cites Ukrainian intelligence authorities, stating that some of the artillery supplied by the DPRK has already been deployed in western Russia's Kursk.

Additionally, satellite analysis experts have captured images of several artillery pieces covered with camouflage being transported westward, in central Russia.

However, the report did not mention the route taken by the artillery from the DPRK to Russia or who would operate the artillery units between the Russian military and the deployed DPRK troops.

Nonetheless, it has been suggested that the DPRK may have sent artillery forces to verify the performance of the artillery in actual combat, or assisted in the installation and production of artillery shell factories within Russia.

Previously, in May, the DPRK announced that Kim Jong-un had observed the test firing of a new 240mm multiple rocket launcher equipped with guided missile launch capabilities.

Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Zelensky criticized the DPRK as an accomplice in the illegal war during a meeting with the Japanese Foreign Minister yesterday, expressing his intention to holder further discussions with South Korea.

[Volodymyr Zelensky/Ukrainian President: "I believe that dialogue between Ukraine and Japan, as well as with South Korea, is very important."]

If the DPRK has indeed sent actual artillery forces, it would expand the scale and function of the deployment, potentially becoming a new variable in the ongoing war in Ukraine, which will reach its thousandth day the day after tomorrow.

This is Ahn Da-young reporting for KBS News from Paris.