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North Korea and Russia Intensify Sanctions-Busting Military Ties

An international monitoring team warns that transfers of Pantsir air defense systems to North Korea in return for millions of munitions have fuelled Russia’s intensified strikes on Ukrainian cities.

In this pool photograph distributed by the Russian state agency Sputnik, Russian President Vladimir Putin (L) shakes hands with North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un (R) after a signing ceremony following their bilateral talks at Kumsusan state residence in Pyongyang, on June 19, 2024.
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North Korean Public Security Minister Pang Tu Sop, right, meets with Russian Vice Interior Minister Vitaly Shulika at the Mansudae Assembly Hall in Pyongyang, North Korea Wednesday, May 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Jon Chol Jin)

Overview

  • Russia transferred a Pantsir mobile surface-to-air missile system, a combat vehicle, electronic warfare jammers and missile performance data to North Korea under their June 2024 defense treaty.
  • Since September 2023, Pyongyang shipped over 20,000 containers of military supplies to Russia, including roughly nine million artillery shells, more than 100 ballistic missiles and heavy weapons enough for three brigades.
  • North Korea deployed over 11,000 troops to eastern Russia in late 2024 and dispatched an additional 3,000 soldiers in early 2025 to engage alongside Russian forces in Ukraine.
  • Moscow exported more than one million barrels of refined petroleum products to North Korea between March and October 2024, exceeding the UN cap by over twice the permitted annual limit.
  • The monitoring team documented sanctions breaches through North Korea–owned ruble bank accounts in South Ossetia and the dispatch of about 8,000 North Korean laborers to Russia.