A massive cargo plane with an alleged record of smuggling North Korean weapons has been tracked returning from an apparent pit stop in the hermit kingdom.
The Antonov An-12 is one of several aircraft and Russia-flagged cargo ships that are suspected to have facilitated weapons shipments in violation of international sanctions since at least last year.
The U.S. and South Korea have accused the Kim Jong Un regime of providing the Kremlin with missiles, artillery shells, and other weaponry to replenish the Russian military as it runs through equipment and ammunition in its invasion of Ukraine. Both Moscow and Pyongyang have denied that such transfers are taking place.
Early on March 21, an Antonov An-124 operated by Russian state-owned company the 224th Flight Unit was making its way to the far-east Russian city Vladivostok on an apparent return route from North Korea, analysts at NK Pro said on Wednesday, citing flight tracking data.
The plane was tracked leaving Vladivostok at about 2:30 a.m. local time. It then switched off its transponder and went dark, a common practice for Russian aircraft and cargo ships that have been spotted in North Korea shortly afterward.
The Antonov An-124 is even likelier to have stopped in the North Korean capital considering that another Russian state-owned plane—one that did not turn off its transponder—was tracked making the Vladivostok-Pyongyang journey just hours earlier, according to NK Pro.
That plane made the return leg of the trip around the time the Antonov An-124 is believed to have touched down.
Newsweek reached out to the North Korean embassy in Beijing, the Russian foreign ministry, and the U.S. State Department via written requests for comment.
One of the biggest cargo planes in operation, the An-124 has sufficient space to load fighter jets, transporter erector launchers, missiles, and other bulky weapons and weapons platforms.
The 224th Flight Unit is subject to punitive measures from several countries including the United States, which slapped sanctions on the enterprise in January.
The U.S. Treasury Department also separately sanctioned the Antonov An-124 (registration number RA-82030) that carried out the March 21 flight, saying it had been involved in North Korean "ballistic missiles and missile-related cargo transfers in late November 2023."
The aircraft's apparent stop in Pyongyang came just a few days after North Korean Supreme Leader Kim Jong Un presided over his country's first ballistic missile test in two months.
In the drills, North Korean forces simultaneously launched six 600-millimeter missiles that Pyongyang has said can be fitted with nuclear warheads.
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Micah McCartney is a reporter for Newsweek based in Taipei, Taiwan. He covers U.S.-China relations, East Asian and Southeast Asian ... Read more
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