Russia and North Korea are purportedly exploring some kind of weapons arrangement, according to the U.S. State Department.
State Department Spokesperson Ned Price said Thursday that due to Russia's desperation, which has included mobilization and the imposition of martial law, it has turned to nations like North Korea and Iran for assistance.
"Some of this is a reflection of the export controls, of the sanctions, of the economic measures that we've imposed on Russia," Price said. "The fact is that they don't have the ability to organically produce, to import, the key inputs that they need, and so they're turning to Iran. They're exploring arrangements with North Korea."
Reports in early September said that the Russian Ministry of Defense was in the process of purchasing millions of rockets and artillery shells from North Korea.
An anonymous U.S. official told the Associated Press that Russia's reliance on North Korea demonstrates that "the Russian military continues to suffer from severe supply shortages in Ukraine, due in part to export controls and sanctions."
John Parachini, senior international and defense researcher at the RAND Corporation, told Newsweek that Price's remarks are another case in which the U.S. is releasing intelligence to try to thwart what Russia is doing while being more transparent.
"What [Russia] will do with North Korea is not clear, although there's a lot of suggestions that it would be artillery and short-range missiles," Parachini said. "I think it's hard to know, but what the Russians need is short-range missiles and artillery. It's kind of an embrace of the isolated countries, like who could Russia turn to?"
That is due to China and Indian not wanting to get more involved in the Russia-Ukraine conflict, he added. And since Russia's production lines seem limited, North Korea could potentially provide weaponry in exchange for food, fuel or something else.