By Josh Smith SEOUL (Reuters) - If North Korea provides artillery rounds and other weapons to Russia for the war in Ukraine, it could help Kremlin ...
STORY CONTINUES BELOW THESE SALTWIRE VIDEOSSEOUL - If North Korea provides artillery rounds and other weapons to Russia for the war in Ukraine, it could help Kremlin forces stretch their dwindling stocks of ammunition but would unlikely to change the course of the conflict, military analysts say.
The size of these stores and its degradation over time is less clear, as is the scale of ongoing production, but these stockpiles could help replenish those severely depleted in Ukraine, said Joseph Dempsey, a defence researcher at the International Institute for Strategic Studies. North Korea's offering is likely to be less high-tech but accessing those stocks would likely significantly increase Russia's capabilities in the short term, while North Korean production lines would help in the longer term, said Siemon Wezeman, of the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute.
The White House has said Russia wants to buy"literally millions" of artillery shells and rockets from North Korea.Massed artillery fire has played a key role since Russia's invasion of Ukraine, which it calls a"special military operation. Some analysts call artillery the"king of battle" despite the focus on flashier, high-tech weapons.
Hinton told Reuters the question of quality in North Korean artillery shells could have an impact if flaws fall outside accepted tolerances. According to a report by the Washington-based 38 North project, more than half those rounds fell in the waters around the island, while about 20% of those that impacted the island failed to explode.