Russia gave North Korea a million barrels of oil, despite the sanctions

Russia has given North Korea more than a million barrels of oil since March of this year in violation of sanctions. Oil is the payment for weapons and troops that Pyongyang sent to the Russian Federation.

This is stated in the analysis of satellite images by the Open Source Center research group, the BBC reports.

Satellite images show more than a dozen North Korean oil tankers arriving at an oil terminal in Russiaʼs Far East 43 times over the past eight months. In the photo of the ships at sea, you can see that they arrived empty and left almost full.

North Korea is the only country in the world that is prohibited from buying oil on the open market. The UN limited it to 500 000 barrels of refined oil per year in order to prevent it from developing nuclear weapons.

The first oil shipment documented by the Open Source Center in a new report occurred on March 7, 2024. That is, seven months after it became known that Pyongyang was giving Moscow weapons.

“While Kim Jong Un is providing Putin with a lifeline to continue his war, Russia is quietly providing North Korea with another lifeline. This steady flow of oil gives North Korea a level of stability it hasnʼt had since the sanctions were imposed,” explained Joe Byrne of the Open Source Center.

North Korea needs diesel and gasoline to transport missile launchers and redeploy troops across the country, to run munitions factories and to manufacture cars for Pyongyangʼs elite.

The limit of 500 000 barrels that North Korea has the right to receive is much smaller than the nine million that it consumes. The sanctions, which have been in place since 2017, have forced Pyongyang to illegally buy oil to make up for shortfalls.

“Kim Jong-un is now getting oil directly, itʼs probably better quality, and heʼs probably getting it for free as a quid pro quo for the supply of munitions. What could be better than that? A million barrels is nothing for a major oil producer like Russia, but it is a significant amount for North Korea," said Goh Myonghyun, a senior researcher at South Koreaʼs National Security Strategy Institute.

In 43 flights tracked by the Open Source Center using satellite images, North Korean-flagged tankers arrived at the Russian port of Vostochny with their trackers turned off to hide their movements. They eventually returned to one of four ports on the east and west coasts of North Korea.

Also, in exchange for soldiers and weapons, North Korea receives from Russia money, nuclear and space technologies, rice and currency.

Participation of the North Korean military in the war against Ukraine

Ukrainian intelligence reported on October 24 that the first soldiers from the KDPR had already arrived at the front — in the Kursk region. There are approximately 12 000 military personnel, including 500 officers and three generals.

South Korean intelligence reported that the first part of the military was transported by ships of the Russian Pacific Fleet to Vladivostok on October 8-13, they were given Russian uniforms, weapons and fake Russian passports. Babel sources said that they are being prepared in such cities as Khabarovsk, Ussuriysk, Blagoveshchensk, Vladivostok, and on the basis of the 11th separate airborne assault brigade of the Russian Federation, a "special Buryat battalion" staffed by citizens of the DPRK is being formed.

Russia has assembled a group of 50 000 soldiers for the offensive in the Kursk region. The North Koreans are trained in artillery fire, basic infantry tactics and, most importantly, trench clearing, US officials say. This means that at least part of the military from North Korea will be used in frontal attacks on Ukrainian positions.

According to Bloomberg, North Korea may deploy up to 100 000 troops to help Russia in its war against Ukraine if the alliance between Pyongyang and Moscow continues to deepen.

North Korea and Russia have already ratified the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership Agreement, which their leaders signed in June. It, in particular, contains a pact on mutual defense. During her visit to Moscow in early November 2024, the head of the North Korean Foreign Ministry stated that the leader of the DPRK Kim Jong Un had ordered to help the Russian army since the beginning of the great war.

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