"Many Found Defective Upon Dismantling"…Russia Struggles with 'Defective North Korean Shells' Harming Its Own Forces

"North Korean Workers Steal Everything from Factories"
"North Korea's Planned Economy Prioritizes Quantity over Quality"

It has been claimed that the Russian military is facing difficulties on the Ukrainian front due to some defective shells received from North Korea.

On the 12th (local time), according to Ukrainian military media Defense Express and Militarnyi, a Telegram channel recently released photos of five North Korean-made NDT-3 152mm shells used by the Russian military that had been disassembled. Inside the shells, many were missing the electrical wire components intended to remove copper powder from inside the barrel.

Additionally, among five randomly selected shells, the amount and weight of the loaded gunpowder varied, and some shells had damaged sealed parts, increasing the likelihood of quality degradation due to moisture ingress.

Damaged Russian military tank. [Image source=Ex]

Defense Express analyzed that if the shells are not properly manufactured, "the firing range may be shortened, and accuracy may decrease as the number of firings increases."

It added, "North Korean workers steal everything possible from the factory for their own benefit," and pointed out that "North Korea's planned economy, which prioritizes quantity over quality, causes such defects."

Some copper wires are missing from parts of the shells in Bukhansan. [Image source=Ukraine Defense Express]

Online, images of completely destroyed Russian military tanks have also been revealed. On the social networking service X, a video showing a Russian BM-21 tank with its barrel and turret completely destroyed due to an internal explosion was posted.

The military expert blogger Tendard, who shared this post, stated, "It clearly appears to be an internal explosion caused by a defective shell," and speculated, "It is likely either Russian-made or North Korean-made."