At the same time, British intelligence forecasts that Russia’s economic situation will worsen by 2025 due to expected increases in military spending. Additionally, Western sanctions continue to impact the economy.

The United States is concerned by Russia's growing relationship with North Korea and by what technology the two countries may be exchanging, the top U.S. arms control official said on Wednesday.

There are two likely possibilities: one, that a North Korean artillery unit is deploying to the front line in western Russia or Ukraine; two, that a Russian unit will operate the tracked, four-person howitzers,

The trilateral Freedom Edge exercise comes after North Korea launched a nuclear-capable missile and sent troops to Russia.

North Korean troops have begun engaging in combat operations alongside Russian forces, the U.S. State Department said on Tuesday, expressing concern that Russia had turned to North Korea for soldiers to fight in its war with Ukraine.

A photo has emerged showing examples of a North Korean-made self-propelled artillery system under transport in Russia, the clearest suggestion so far that Pyongyang is also now providing Moscow with these kinds of heavyweight,

The analysts also suggested that production of the M-1989 Koksan howitzer could now be taking place in Russia. Defense Express said a single photo doesn’t provide enough evidence to gauge the full scale of potential artillery transfers to Russia,

Photos have begun to appear on Russian social media showing the transport of North Korean long-range artillery systems that have been delivered to Russia. According to Defence Blog, these include the M1989 "Koksan",