North Korea Reportedly Supplied Russia With Soviet-Era D-74 Howitzers

North Korea has reportedly supplied the Russian army with D-74 howitzers, according to a video posted to Russian social media on December 14.

In the video, a D-74 howitzer is seen being used by Russian forces, allegedly by the 238th Artillery Brigade in Pokrovsk in the Donetsk region. The howitzer was identified as North Korean by its tire pattern, which is supposedly identical to the D-74s seen in recordings of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un’s military inspections.

The D-74 howitzer–a short gun for firing shells–is of Soviet origin, designed in the 1940s and used during World War 2. Only a small number were produced, the majority of which were exported. By the 1970s, almost all D-74s had been removed from Soviet arsenals. Subsequently, these howitzers began to be produced in China, Vietnam, Algeria and North Korea, in whose armies they continue to be used actively.

The presence of such an old model of weapon on the battlefield is indicative of a general shortage of ammunition no longer produced in Russia.

According to Militarnyi, Russia has also been recently documented using North Korean OF-472 shells and charges, which are replicas of Soviet models.

Russia’s heavy losses of armored vehicles on the battlefield have forced it to pull aging Soviet-era tanks out of storage, with satellite images revealing almost empty stockpile bases in Siberia.

South Korea will impose sanctions on individuals and companies “involved in illegal military cooperation between Russia and North Korea” on December 19.

On December 14, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy confirmed that Russia had deployed North Korean soldiers for the first time to attack Ukrainian positions in Russia’s Kursk region.

Since then, Ukraine has confirmed over 80 North Korean casualties in Russia’s Kursk region.