Increase in rail traffic between North Korea and Russia, a sign of a “probable” arms transfer
The Beyond Parallel cell, created by the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) – a Washington think tank – and dedicated to the Korean peninsula, specifies in its study published Friday that rail traffic between North Korea and Russia has greatly increased.
Seventy freight wagons were identified at the Tumangang border railway station, using high-resolution satellite images. A number described as ” unprecedented “, even compared to pre-Covid traffic. Over the past five years, only twenty wagons have been seen in this marshalling yard, according to the same source.
This renewed activity “probably indicates that North Korea is supplying arms and ammunition to Russia”concludes the CSIS, which however could not identify the contents of the wagons covered by tarpaulins.
This sharp increase in cross-border rail traffic comes following a summit between Kim Jong-un and Russian President Vladimir Putin last month in Russia. On Thursday, a US official, quoted by CBS News on condition of anonymity, said North Korea had begun transferring weapons to Russia.
The North Korean leader’s latest trip to Russia and his meeting with Mr. Putin have revived Western fears that isolated and nuclear-armed Pyongyang could supply Moscow with weapons for its war in Ukraine. If Russia affirmed that no arms agreement had been concluded during this meeting, the head of the Kremlin nevertheless mentioned “prospects” military cooperation.
Russia needs North Korean munitions to continue its war in Ukraine, while North Korea is, for its part, suspected of wanting to acquire technologies for its nuclear and missile programs and to modernize its equipment. military dating from the Soviet era.
Both countries are under international sanctions: Moscow for its invasion of Ukraine and Pyongyang for its nuclear and ballistic programs. The White House, for its part, declared that any export of North Korean weapons to Russia “would directly violate numerous UN Security Council resolutions, including resolutions that Russia itself voted to adopt”.