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Russia Reportedly Transferred Austrian Sniper Rifles to North Korea
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![Amira_barkhush]( "Photo of Amira Barkhush")
Russia and North Korea’s military cooperation is deepening amid the ongoing war in Ukraine. In exchange for artillery shells and troops, Moscow has supplied Pyongyang not only with fuel, missile technology, and air defense systems, but also samples of Western-made weapons.
In early April, a photo surfaced on social media showing North Korean leader Kim Jong Un aiming what appears to be an Austrian Steyr Mannlicher SSG 08 rifle during military drills.
The Moscow Times reported on May 30 that around the same time, the pro-Russian military site TopWar wrote that Austrian rifles had officially entered service with the North Korean army. According to The Insider, this development came just two weeks after a visit by Russian Security Council Secretary Sergei Shoigu to North Korea.
The Steyr SSG 08 is a bolt-action sniper rifle known for its high accuracy and was developed with input from snipers of Austria’s elite counter-terrorism unit, EKO Cobra.
According to the outlet, Steyr Mannlicher rifles have been in service with the Russian military since 2011. In 2013, Russia’s state corporation Rostec signed a deal with the Austrian manufacturer to produce firearms in Izhevsk. However, the project was halted following Russia’s 2014 attempted annexation of Crimea and the EU’s subsequent arms embargo.
Despite this, the Russian company Arsenal Gun Salon continued importing Austrian rifles. From 2014 to 2018, the firm brought in nearly 20 metric tons of rifles. Other companies, such as Hunter-Ru LLC and Test-Oruzhiye, were also involved in procurement. The imports did not stop after Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
The Insider reports that Kyrgyzstan became one of the largest importers of Austrian rifles in 2023, acquiring 4,434 units, despite having no prior history of importing such weapons. That same year, Tajikistan purchased 2,000 rifles. Additional deliveries to Russia reportedly passed through Kazakhstan and Georgia.
Russian troops have been using Steyr Mannlicher rifles since the first days of the invasion. In May 2024, The Insider identified photos from five military units showing snipers with SSG 08 rifles. The same model has been seen in the hands of Wagner Group mercenaries in Ukraine, Libya, and Syria; fighters from the “Sparta” battalion in temporarily occupied Donetsk; and Federal Protective Service snipers on the Kremlin’s rooftops.
On May 29, it was reported that North Korea has transferred approximately 20,000 containers to Russia since September 2023, carrying an estimated 9 million rounds of ammunition, 100 ballistic missiles, and over 200 heavy artillery systems.
-21d0b63c17f6020e4df75f6c6f9a2f4f.jpg "Photo of Ivan Khomenko")
