South Korea's National Intelligence Service hints at North Korea exporting long-range artillery to Russia

The National Intelligence Service (NIS) of South Korea attended a plenary session of the National Assembly's Intelligence Committee on the 20th and announced that North Korea, which has sent troops to Russia in the midst of a war with Ukraine, has provided additional military supplies, including long-range artillery.
The NIS also said that important and sensitive hot topics were discussed during North Korean Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui's meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Lee Seong-kwon, a People Power lawmaker, and Park Sun-won, a Democratic Party lawmaker, who are the ruling and opposition party secretaries on the National Assembly Intelligence Committee, said at a meeting of the Intelligence Committee that afternoon that
The information was conveyed to reporters after the general meeting ended. According to the NIS, the North Korean troops, consisting of about 11,000 troops from the 11th Corps, have completed local adaptation training in northeastern Russia.
They were reportedly transferred to Kursk late last month and are currently serving with Russia's airborne brigade and marines, undergoing tactical and drone response training, and some are believed to have participated in combat.
The NIS said casualties were occurring as North Korean troops have begun participating in frontline combat, adding that it was "currently grasping" the details of the operation and the scale of damage.
The NIS has also learned that North Korea is exporting additional military supplies to Russia. In addition to artillery shells and missiles, North Korea is also exporting 170mm self-propelled guns and 2.5mm self-propelled guns.
"These weapons are weapons that Russia has not used before, and we are providing training on their operation and maintenance," Rep. Lee said.
"There is a high possibility that North Korea has sent additional troops to Russia for this purpose," the NIS said. The NIS also explained the background to Foreign Minister Choi's visit to Russia and its results. Foreign Minister Choi has been in Russia since June 28th of last month.
He visited Russia until the 1st of this month to demonstrate the unwavering North-Russia relationship. On the 1st of this month, the first foreign ministers' strategic dialogue was held between the two countries, where they reportedly discussed expanding strategic cooperation and strengthening anti-U.S. solidarity.
Of particular note is that North Korea managed to meet with President Putin on the 4th of this month, despite initial reservations from the Russian side. The NIS has extended the visit by one or two days,
"There must have been some very important and sensitive topics discussed during Foreign Minister Choi's meeting with President Putin.
"It was judged that the visit was not merely a formality, and there was a cautious view expressed that Kim Jung Eun, the North's leader, might visit Russia," he said.