Reuters: China provided a berth to a ship carrying weapons from North Korea to Russia

China provides a berth for the Russian cargo ship "Angara", which is under US sanctions and is involved in the supply of North Korean weapons to Russia.

This was reported by the Reuters agency with reference to satellite images.

The pictures show that the "Angara" is moored in Zhejiang province at the ship repair plant of the largest private ship repair company in China, Zhoushan Xinya Shipyard. Data from the MarineTraffic vessel tracking service also show that a vessel called "Angara" is docked in the port of Zhejiang.

According to the British analytical center Royal United Services Institute, since August 2023, this ship has transported thousands of containers with probably North Korean ammunition to Russian ports.

A US State Department official said he was aware of "credible reports from open sources" that the Angara was now docked in a Chinese port and that he had raised the matter with Chinese authorities.

"We call on all member states to fulfill their obligations under UN Security Council Resolution 2397," the official said, referring to the UN resolution that restricts trade with North Korea and requires UN member states to cancel the registration of any participating vessels. in illegal activities.

• In January 2023, the United States released evidence that North Korea had been supplying Russia with weapons since at least November 2022. The head of Ukrainian military intelligence, Kyrylo Budanov, stated at the beginning of 2024 that the DPRK is now the largest supplier of weapons to Russia.
• On February 16, 2024, the Prosecutor General stated that Russian forces had already launched at least 24 North Korean-made NK-23 ballistic missiles over Ukraine. These are data for the period from December 30, 2023 to February 7, 2024. Missiles attacked Zaporizhzhia, Kyiv, Kharkiv, towns and villages in Kirovohrad, Poltava, Donetsk, and Dnipropetrovsk regions. In total, they killed 14 civilians and injured more than 70 people.
• Investigators of the British organization Conflict Armament Research found hundreds of components produced in the USA and the EU in the remains of the North Korean ballistic missile that the Russian Federation used to attack Ukraine. Most of these parts were produced within the last three years, the report said.
• On February 23, GUR reported that North Korea sent one and a half million artillery ammunition to Russia. However, these are not very high-quality old shells from the 1970s and 1980s.