Russia has started supplying oil directly to North Korea in defiance of UN sanctions, further cementing ties between the two authoritarian regimes and dealing a new blow to international efforts to contain Pyongyang,Financial Times reports.
At least five North Korean tankers travelled this month to collect oil products from Vostochny Port in Russia’s Far East, according to satellite images shared with the Financial Times by the Royal United Services Institute, a UK think-tank.
The shipments, which began on March 7, are the first documented direct seaborne deliveries from Russia since the UN Security Council — with Moscow’s approval — imposed a strict cap on oil transfers in 2017 in response to Pyongyang’s nuclear weapons tests.
“These oil deliveries constitute a full-frontal assault against the sanctions regime, which is now on the brink of collapse,” said Hugh Griffiths, a former co-ordinator of the UN panel that monitors sanctions on North Korea, FT article mentions.
