Doil in exchange for troops. While thousands of North Korean troops were sent to help Russia in its war against Ukraine, oil was delivered to Pyongyang in return. It is used to pay for the weapons and troops that Pyongyang has sent to Moscow, British Foreign Minister David Lammy told the BBC.
According to an analysis of satellite images carried out by the Open Source Centre, a British non-profit organization, around 1 million barrels of oil have been sent since March. In detail, a dozen North Korean tankers have visited a terminal in the Russian Far East 43 times over the past eight months. The images, communicated to the BBC, show ships arriving empty and leaving 90% filled with oil.
According to the data, the first shipment of oil took place on March 7, 2024. “Ships appear silently, almost every week,” Joe Byrne, a researcher at the Open Source Center, told the BBC, highlighting a “ relatively constant flow” since March. The figure of 1 million barrels is nevertheless an estimate, as the organization cannot document all trips.
ALSO READ Between Russia and North Korea, a marriage of convenienceIf proven, these transfers violate UN sanctions, which prohibit countries from selling oil to North Korea. Since 2017, it can only import 500,000 barrels of refined oil per year. It is also the only country in the world not authorized to buy oil on the open market.
Russia would also supply anti-aircraft missiles to North Korea
In exchange for the troops, South Korea says Russia provided anti-aircraft missiles to North Korea. “It has been established that anti-aircraft equipment and missiles intended to strengthen Pyongyang's vulnerable air defense system were delivered to North Korea,” South Korean national security director Shin Won-sik said. in an interview with local channel SBS this Friday.
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She also assures that North Korea has sent Russia new shipments of artillery systems and rocket launchers to support its war effort in Ukraine. According to South Korean intelligence, Pyongyang has also deployed personnel to take care of the maintenance of these weapons which are not part of the Russian conventional arsenal.
ALSO READ “The North Koreans are seriously lacking in combat experience”These oil transfers would then mark a further intensification of the links which connect Vladimir Putin to Kim Jong-un on the ground of the war in Ukraine.
