Kim Jong-un seized on Russia’s need for support in its war against Ukraine. His reward is a rapidly modernizing military that threatens the delicate balance of power on the Korean Peninsula.

North Korea has become a crucial source of missiles, munitions and even soldiers for Russia’s war in Ukraine as the sanctions-defying alliance between the two countries intensifies, according to a report by 11 countries,

North Korea has supplied over 20,000 containers of munitions, including at least 100 ballistic missiles, to Russia. This exchange, in violation of U.N. sanctions, allows Russia to intensify missile attacks on Ukraine.