Russia supplied North Korea with million barrels of oil: report

PYONGYANG (dpa-AFX) – Russia has likely supplied more than a million barrels of oil to North Korea since March, British non-profit research group Open Source Center says based on analysis of satellite images.

Over an eight-month period, the OSC analyzed hundreds of satellite images to track dozens of North Korean tankers shuttling between the Russian port of Vostochny and facilities in North Korea, identifying more than 40 voyages of Pyongyang’s oil cargo fleet, according to Open Source Center.

The supply of large quantities of refined oil products provides a crucial lifeline for North Korea, which has struggled to import petroleum supplies after U.N. sanctions restricted the country’s imports in 2016 following the country’s last nuclear test.

If confirmed. this will amount to a violation of UN sanctions that prevent countries from selling oil to North Korea, which are aimed at suppressing the country’s economy and preventing it from continuing to develop nuclear weapons.

The report comes as Russia leans on thousands of North Korean troops to bolster its ranks. The Pentagon said earlier this week that nearly 11,000 North Korean troops have entered Russia’s Kursk region, ready to fight alongside Russian troops on the war front.

North Korea is one of the few countries supporting Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine and the ongoing war against its neighbor.

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