Despite UN sanctions, Russia is supplying oil directly to North Korea, reports said Tuesday Financial Times SatellitesRecordingsReferring to
According to the report, photos shared with the publication by a British think tank – the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI) – show at least five North Korean tankers departing this month to transport oil products from the Russian Far East from the port of Vostochny.
The shipments, which began on March 7, are reportedly the first documented direct sea shipments from Russia since the UN Security Council imposed strict oil import restrictions on North Korea in 2017 in response to its long-range missile and nuclear tests. . . The United Nations requires member states to report all shipments, sales and transfers of refined petroleum products to North Korea, and has set a limit of 500,000 barrels on Pyongyang's annual imports of refined crude oil.
“These oil shipments represent a direct attack on the sanctions regime that is now on the verge of collapse.” Hugh Griffiths, former coordinator of the UN body that oversees sanctions against North Korea, was quoted as saying.
The report highlights that North Korean-flagged ships, classified as oil product tankers, all visited the same dock operated by a Russian oil company in the port of Vostochny, where they appear to have loaded.
Satellite images reportedly confirmed that two of them then headed from Vostochny to the North Korean port of Chongjin, where they appeared to disembark.
Joseph Byrne, a researcher at the Royal United Services Institute, told the newspaper: “The ships seen at the Russian terminals are among the largest capacity ships in the North Korean fleet, and ships are constantly entering and exiting the port.”
“Many of these ships have also been flown with the UN flag, meaning they should not even be allowed to enter foreign ports, let alone participate in oil shipments.” claimed.
Royal United Services Institute researchers have estimated that documented oil shipments from the port of Vostochny could mean 125,000 barrels of petroleum products — a quarter of the annual authorized quota — within a few weeks, the Financial Times reports.
Last June, the United Nations Sanctions Committee reported that oil exports from Moscow to Pyongyang resumed in December 2022 after a two-year hiatus. At the time, North Korean Foreign Minister Cho Son Hui said the “strategic cooperation” between the two countries had never been stronger and described it as a new “golden era” for bilateral relations.
