The UK has sent satellite photographs of North Korean cargo shipments to Russia to a panel of UN experts as evidence in an official investigation into arms deals in violation of international sanctions.
North Korea has been accused of providing ballistic missiles and hundreds of thousands of artillery shells to Russia for its war in Ukraine since Russia's President Vladimir Putin and North Korea's President Kim Jong-un met in September in the far east of Russia.
UK Sends UN Cargo Photographs of North Korean Shipments
According to The Guardian, photos from the UK Defense Ministry include Russian ships unloading supplies at North Korea's Najin port. The three vessels, the Maia, Angara, and Maria, headed to Russian ports in the Far East.
The images were captured between September and December. The UK Defense Ministry said it could not identify what was inside the containers.
The US government has sanctioned all three ships for their ties to the Russian Defense Ministry.
A panel of UN experts focusing on North Korean weapons proliferation received the report. The panel is expected to release its final report on arms shipments between North Korea and Russia next month.
"Russia's use of North Korean weapons in Ukraine is a violation of multiple UN Security Council resolutions," a UN diplomat said. "It undermines international efforts to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons and exposes just how desperate Russia has become in its failed invasion. This and other evidence submitted to the UN sanctions committee should trigger a full investigation into Russia and DPRK's [North Korea's] flagrant breaking of international sanctions."
The deliveries have been attributed to military operations against Ukraine in December and January that killed dozens of people and injured hundreds.
Kharkiv prosecutors suspected North Korean-made Iskander missile fragments had been brought to Kyiv for examination. They said the missiles had subtle differences, with hand-written serial numbers, a distinct nozzle exhaust cone, and different welding.
UN Condemns Russia's Use of North Korean Weapons Against Ukraine
UN delegates denounced Russia's use of North Korean weapons in Ukraine during a meeting of the Security Council on January 10, following reports that Russian forces had fired ballistic missiles into Ukraine.
A statement released by eight members of the Security Council, including the UK and US, said that the heinous attacks were carried out, in part, using ballistic missiles and launchers procured from North Korea.
Ukrainian military intelligence chief Kyrylo Budanov said that North Korea is now Russia's largest arms supplier.
The White House's senior director for arms control, Pranay Vaddi, described this week's military cooperation between Russia and North Korea as unprecedented. He warned that Russian military assistance to North Korea could undermine the US nuclear deterrence policy in South Korea and Japan.
