FT: the Russian Federation began supplying oil to North Korea in exchange for weapons
26.03.2024 - 14:22
In March, at least five North Korean tankers went to the Russian port of Skhidny to collect oil products.
The supply of petroleum products from the Russian Federation to the DPRK was recorded thanks to satellite images, the Financial Times writes.
The shipments, which began on March 7, were the first documented direct sea shipments from Russia since the UN Security Council imposed strict restrictions on oil transfers in 2017. This decision was made in response to North Korea’s nuclear weapons tests.
In March, at least five North Korean tankers went to the Russian port of Skhidny, located in the Far East of the Russian Federation, for oil products. Satellite images showed that the two vessels departed from the port of East to the port of Chongjin (DPRK), where they probably unloaded.
Read also: North Korea has resumed the supply of weapons to the Russian Federation by sea.
“What we are seeing now is a clear barter exchange of weapons for oil, which is in open violation of the sanctions that Putin personally signed, which illustrates the trajectory of Russia’s development in recent years towards an outlaw state,” said the former coordinator of the UN monitoring group on North Korea Sanctions, Hugh Griffiths.
The publication emphasized that such actions further strengthen ties between authoritarian countries and deal a new blow to international efforts to contain North Korea.
“The ships we saw at the Russian terminals are among the heaviest in North Korea’s fleet, and they are constantly coming in and out of the port. Some of these vessels also have a special UN permit, which means that they should not even enter foreign ports, let alone participate in oil deliveries,” explained a researcher at the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI ) Joseph Byrne.
According to RUSI, the port of Skhidny was also used as a hub for Russian vessels involved in the arms trade between the countries.
As previously reported by USM, since September 2023, the DPRK sent to Russia about 6,700 containers with ammunition, which were used in the war with Ukraine. This is approximately 3 million 152 mm artillery shells or 500 thousand 122 mm caliber shells.
