Putin and Kim Jong Un traded letters as Russia seeks munitions, White House says

The Biden administration has repeatedly made the case that the Kremlin has become reliant on North Korea, as well as Iran, for the arms it needs to fight its war against Ukraine.

Russian defence minister Sergei Shoigu recently visited North Korea (Dmitry Astakhov, Sputnik, Government Pool Photo/AP)

The White House on Wednesday said that it has new intelligence that shows Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un have swapped letters, as Russia looks to North Korea for munitions for the Ukraine war.

National Security Council spokesman John Kirby detailed the latest finding just weeks after the White House said that it had determined that Russian defence minister Sergei Shoigu, during a recent visit to Pyongyang, called on North Korean officials to increase the sale of munitions to Moscow for its war in Ukraine.