South Korea and Ukraine offered conflicting estimates this week of how many artillery rounds North Korea has supplied to Russia, raising questions about the extent of Pyongyang and Moscow’s military cooperation.

But while assessing that Seoul’s estimate is likely overstated, one expert said even Ukraine’s lower figure suggests North Korea is playing an important role in supporting Russia’s invasion.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky told journalists on Sunday that North Korea has agreed to supply Russia with about 1.5 million rounds of artillery. He said he doesn’t expect Pyongyang’s transshipments to exceed this figure in the future.

Zelensky added that the