Kim Jong-un has revived a formerly dormant port on the border with Russia that could soon help advance the country’s campaign in Ukraine. Little is known about Najin, a large port on the totalitarian nation’s northeast coast.
But, recent intelligence from the US has suggested it has roared back to life following a period of inactivity. Satellite imagery taken by the US and South Korean intelligence between October and December this year shows a steady parade of ships filtering in and out of the port, attended by rail cars unloading goods.
Unfortunately for Ukraine, the port serves as a gateway to Russia and has previously facilitated trade between the two nations.
The latest intelligence update suggests North Korea is funnelling weapons to its neighbour and that six trips have carried arms between the nations since August, marking a potential blow to Ukraine’s defensive efforts.
Satellite pictures released by the White House claims to show weapons passing from Naijin to the Russian town of Tikhoretsk, just 124 miles from Ukraine’s border.
The deliveries included hundreds of thousands of artillery shells, the US has alleged, and “military material”, and the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI) has said they also show the “rapid expansion of a munitions storage facility” from August 2023.
The images show excavators “digging over 100 new munitions pits” on location, designed to hold “North Korean weapons and munitions”.
RUSI suggested North Korea is supplying Russia with “significant quantities of munitions” it has stockpiled since the close of the Korean War.
The institute concluded that the munitions exchange could have “profound consequences for the war in Ukraine”.
The report said the establishment of a “major North Korean supply line” would “alleviate shortages of munitions for what has proven to be an ordinance-hungry conflict and enable the Russian armed forces to feed their frontline troops as they try to repel a Ukrainian counteroffensive”.
Joost Oliemans, co-author of the book The Armed Forces of North Korea, said the deliveries would “allow Russia to keep up much higher pressure for longer on Ukrainian forces”.
The report adds: “Ukraine and its supporters will also have to contend with this new reality, potentially escalating their support by providing additional quantities of weapons and munitions to Ukraine’s defenders.”
Up to one million new shells in Russian hands would give the aggressor nation 2,700 rounds more per day to use in its assault on the nation.
At the same time, the exchange will give North Korea a new income stream that could help it swerve international sanctions.
