rade between Russia and North Korea resumed for the first time since 2020 this week, with Moscow sending 30 thoroughbred horses by train, amid reports that Pyongyang has been covertly supplying a “significant” number of artillery shells. 

It is not known if the rail cargo of Orlov Trotters – Russia’s most famous horse and a favourite of North Korean elites – was related to the suspected arms shipment, but the delivery indicates strengthening ties between the two pariah states that would have wider implications for Ukraine and the Indo-Pacific.The White House announced on Wednesday that North Korea had begun secretly bolstering Russia with weapons shipments to boost its dwindling stocks in its war against Ukraine.“Our information indicates that the DPRK is covertly supplying Russia’s war in Ukraine with a significant number of artillery shells, while obfuscating the real destination of the arms shipments by trying to make it appear as though they’re being sent to countries in the Middle East or North Africa,” said John Kirby, spokesman for the National Security Council.He added that the shells were “not going to change the course of the war” and that the US was still monitoring to determine if they had been received.Raising risk of civilian casualtiesBut military analysts have warned that North Korea’s older, unguided artillery would further raise the risk of civilian casualties.