Russia has exported two dozen rare purebred horses to North Korea, local authorities announced Tuesday, the first such shipment of the prized breed in nearly two years in what one expert called a possible payment for DPRK arms.

Primorsky Krai’s regional veterinary customs agency stated in a press release that 24 Orlov Trotters — 19 stallions and five mares — departed for North Korea on Sunday via the Khasan railway checkpoint after undergoing quarantine in the Vladimir region in western Russia.

The agency noted that all the horses were microchipped for identification purposes and to confirm the purity of the