South Korea's defense chief has said the North could provide Russia with a new type of ballistic missile capable of carrying tactical nuclear weapons. Pyongyang has already come under international condemnation for its arms transfers to Moscow.

South Korea's Defense Minister Shin Won-sik made the claim during an interview with the country's Yonhap News Agency, which was published on Thursday.

Shin referred to photographs carried by North Korea's ruling Workers' Party newspaper, Rodong Sinmun, on Wednesday. They show North Korean leader Kim Jong Un standing in front of a row of launch vehicles during his visit to a munitions factory earlier this week.

Shin said the mobile launchers can be mounted with close-range ballistic missiles, which are a new type of weapon first test-fired by North Korea in April 2022. He said Pyongyang could sell at least some of the missiles to Moscow.

Shin said North Korea is estimated to have supplied about 5,000 containers of weapons to Russia as of the end of 2023. He said the containers could have transported up to 2.3 million rounds of 152-millimeter shells, or around 400,000 rounds of 122-millimeter artillery shells.

Shin said North Korea could test-fire solid-fuel intermediate-range ballistic missiles as early as this month.

Shin also warned that Pyongyang could launch intercontinental ballistic missiles not at lofted angles but at normal angles this year to confirm their capabilities.