>>...North Korean shells have turned out to be of questionable quality, even presenting a danger to those who use them,...

FWIW, shelf-stable explosives were developed in the mid-80s. It's not clear the USSR had shifted production to shelf-stable before it dissolved in the early 90s. Gotta wonder how many of those NK shells are from stockpiles of USSR production - and whether NK ever made the switch (guessing 'no' but WTHK) - and how old those shells they're providing might be. Not saying NK hasn't got newer shells where the explosive isn't past its use-by date, but this is their opportunity to get rid of the old stuff. Not dissimilar to what the West has been doing with Ukraine - but at least we're not sending them known-dysfunctional weapons - and I wouldn't put that past Kim.