North Korea is a cause for concern due to its massive arms sales to Russia and the strengthening of its nuclear forces. The alarm comes from photos published by Britain's Guardian newspaper documenting North Korean shipments to Russia of ballistic missiles and hundreds of thousands of projectiles, delivered from Pyongyang and transported on Russian ships sailing from the Asian country. The photos were handed over to a United Nations panel of experts to launch an official investigation into violations of international sanctions. These supplies are part of bilateral relations between Moscow and Pyongyang, which have been booming since President Vladimir Putin met Kim Jong-un in Russia's Far East last September. In addition, North Korean Foreign Minister Choe Son-hui was received at the Kremlin in recent days. The two discussed “the further development of our relations in all areas, including sensitive ones,” said a Kremlin spokesman.
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An unpublished British defense intelligence report, obtained by the Guardian, shows images taken between September and December of three Russian ships, the Maia, the Angara and the Maria, loading containers at the renovated North Korean port of Najin before transferring to Russian ports in the distance East. While the agency said it was unable to identify the contents of the containers, it followed a U.S. announcement last week that North Korean ballistic missiles were used by Russia in Ukraine in attacks between December and January in which ” Dozens of people were killed.” and hundreds more injured.” A version of events consistent with the statement made by eight Security Council members, including the United Kingdom and the United States.
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“Russia’s use of North Korean weapons in Ukraine violates multiple United Nations Security Council resolutions,” a diplomat said, “undermines international efforts to prevent nuclear proliferation and shows how desperate Russia was in its failed invasion.” “This and other evidence presented to the UN sanctions committee should trigger a thorough investigation into the blatant violation of international sanctions by Russia and North Korea,” stressed UN sources quoted by the Guardian. The report, along with other evidence from the United States and other countries, was handed over to the United Nations Panel of Experts on North Korean Weapons Proliferation, which is expected to release its first final report next month after suspected Korean munitions shipments to Russia increased in late 2023 strong. On the Asian stage, there is a risk that Russian military aid to North Korea could undermine US nuclear deterrence policy in South Korea and Japan.