White House: North Korea covertly shipping artillery to Russia

The White House on Wednesday accused North Korea of covertly shipping a “significant number” of artillery shells to Russia in support of its invasion of Ukraine.

National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said the US believes North Korea is “trying to make it appear as though they're being sent to countries in the Middle East or North Africa.” He declined to provide a specific estimate on the quantity of ammunition being sent to bolster the Russian effort.

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Kirby said North Korea “is covertly supplying” the ammunition to Russia, but that, “we're still monitoring this to determine whether the shipments are actually received." Kirby insisted that the North Korean shipments are “not going to change the course of the war," citing Western efforts to resupply the Ukrainian military.

The White House would not specify the mode of transportation or whether the U.S. or other nations would attempt to interdict the shipments to Russia.