North Korea is sending massive amounts of munitions to Russia and is on track to be one of its biggest weapons suppliers, UK intel says

• North Korea has shipped Russia more than 1,000 containers of munitions in recent weeks, intel suggests.
• North Korea is now on track to become one of Russia's biggest foreign arms suppliers alongside Iran and Belarus, the UK's defense ministry said.

The UK's defense ministry said Thursday that North Korea has sent a huge amount of munitions to Russia recently and is on track to become one of Russia's biggest foreign arms suppliers.

North Korea has sent Russia more than 1,000 containers of munitions over the last several weeks, the UK's Ministry of Defence said in an intelligence dispatch on X.

If North Korea keeps up the "recent scale and pace of military-related shipments," the dictatorship would be "on course to become one of Russia's most significant foreign arms suppliers, alongside Iran and Belarus," the intel said.

The UK's assessment echoes that of the White House.

National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby said earlier this month that the US believes North Korea wants Russian military assistance — including fighter aircraft, armored vehicles, ballistic missile production equipment, and surface-to-air missiles — in exchange for weapons.

Kirby said the US is closely monitoring whether Moscow delivers on Pyongyang's expectations, adding that "we have already observed Russian ships offloading containers in the DPRK, which may constitute ... the initial deliveries of material from Russia."

Kirby said that a military alliance between Russia and North Korea could undermine "regional stability and the global nonproliferation regime" and that the US is sanctioning the two countries.

North Korea's munitions shipments come as Russia resumes its so-called "human wave" tactics in its ongoing war against Ukraine.

The strategy involves throwing "masses of poorly trained soldiers right into the battlefield without proper equipment, and ... without proper training and preparation," Kirby said. He added that the decision shows that Russia has "no regard for the lives of its own soldiers," and that where Russia is making progress, it is "very scant and short."