The United Kingdom has submitted satellite images to United Nations experts allegedly showing North Korean cargo shipments to Russia, bringing calls for an investigation into arms deals that may contravene international sanctions.
The photographs have become the foundation for concerns that Pyongyang is supplying the Russian government with significant military hardware, including ballistic missiles and artillery shells, for its war in Ukraine, according to a Monday report in The Guardian.
The U.K.'s disclosure to the U.N. calls for the international community to address the evolving military relationship between North Korea and Russia and its broader implications for global security and arms control. The evidence comes after Russian President Vladimir Putin met with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in Russia's Far East in September, which marked the inception of what appears to be a deepening military collaboration between the two nations.
A classified U.K. defense intelligence report, accessed by The Guardian, provides satellite imagery from September to December showing three Russian vessels—the Maia, Angara and Maria—loading containers at North Korea's reactivated Najin port. The ships were subsequently bound for Russian ports in the Far East. The contents of these containers remain unidentified, yet their movement coincides with a U.S. declaration that North Korean ballistic missiles were being deployed by Russia in Ukraine.
Further investigations into the shipments have been conducted by the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI) think tank and NK News, a website about North Korea. Both identified a trend in increased transshipments from North Korea to Russia, suggesting that a significant influx of North Korean munitions to Russia is underway.
The potential ramifications of this alliance have raised alarms at the highest levels of international diplomacy. Pranay Vaddi, the White House's senior director for arms control, recently called the military cooperation "unprecedented," warning of the implications such assistance could have on the U.S.'s nuclear deterrence strategy in South Korea and Japan.
Meanwhile, a RUSI report on October 16, 2023, shed light on the once-quiet port facility at Dunai, Russia, now a nexus in the burgeoning Pyongyang-Moscow axis. High-resolution images reveal repeated transport of containers, likely carrying North Korean arms, by cargo vessels, including the Russian-flagged Angara and Maria.
The scope of North Korea's military involvement was further detailed by researchers at RUSI, who noted the rapid overhaul of an ammunition depot in Dunai.
Over a hundred new munitions pits have been constructed, likely to safeguard against explosions. Trains spotted delivering containers to the facility, matching those loaded in North Korea, suggest that these pits are being utilized for munitions storage.
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About the writer
Aadil Brar is a reporter for Newsweek based in Taipei, Taiwan. He covers international security, U.S.-China relations, and East Asian ... Read more
