BREAKING NEWS: North Korea armed Russia for almost $10 billion, receiving 8 times less in return, – Yonhap

Cooperation increases the region’s dependence on unstable regimes.

North Korea has provided Russia with weapons, ammunition and even military personnel worth about $9.8 billion as part of agreements to support the war against Ukraine.

At the same time, Moscow’s compensation amounted to only $1.2 billion, South Korean news agency Yonhap News reports , citing a new analytical report.

The document, commissioned by the Korea Office of the Friedrich Naumann Foundation, points to clear signs of asymmetry in relations between Pyongyang and Moscow.

The DPRK’s contribution exceeds a third of its annual GDP, while Russia has reciprocated with food, petroleum products, a small amount of air defense equipment, GPS jammers and possibly a few combat aircraft.

Despite closer contacts, there is no evidence that the Kremlin is helping North Korea modernize its military technology. The country’s economy remains in critical condition, which only highlights the imbalance in cooperation.

For North Korea, the partnership with Russia is important as a source of modern military technology and as a counterweight to its growing dependence on China. Closer ties with the Kremlin also help Pyongyang overcome some of its international isolation.

The publication emphasizes that deepening military cooperation between the two isolated regimes poses a risk to stability in East Asia and could have long-term consequences.

(c)UNIAN 2025