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A military pact between Russia and North Korea is defying sanctions and worrying global leaders. Pyongyang is sending troops and weapons to Ukraine, while Moscow is supplying oil and advanced technologies. The alliance threatens global security and reshapes the balance of power between autocratic regimes.
The revelation of a clandestine military agreement between Russia and North Korea is shaking up the international geopolitical scene.
Satellite images and expert investigations indicate that the two countries are exchanging strategic resources: Pyongyang sends weapons and soldiers to the war in Ukraine, while Moscow provides oil and possibly other advanced technologies.
This pact defies international sanctions and increases the risks of destabilization in several regions of the world.
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A strategic exchange: oil for soldiers and weapons
Since March 2024, investigations have revealed that Russia has supplied more than a million barrels of oil to North Korea, far exceeding the 500 barrel annual limit imposed by the United Nations.
In return, North Korea has sent artillery shells, rockets and troops to support Russian efforts in Ukraine.
These transactions were recorded in satellite images, which show oil tankers coming and going between the two countries.
Joe Byrne, a researcher at the Open Source Centre, points out that these operations occur silently and continuously. “Ships often deactivate their trackers to avoid detection,” he explains.
Analysis reveals that the tankers carry volumes of fuel that support 90% of North Korea's military capacity, essential for operations such as transporting troops and moving missile launchers.
Violations and the impact of sanctions
This partnership directly violates UN sanctions imposed to curb North Korea's development of nuclear weapons.
In March 2024, Russia vetoed the continuation of a UN panel responsible for monitoring sanctions violations, allowing such transactions to continue without international oversight.
According to a Ashley Hess, former member of the panel, this decision was crucial for the intensification of the military alliance between the countries.
“We had initial evidence of these transfers before our work was halted,” he says. Without this oversight mechanism, North Korea now enjoys unprecedented energy stability while Russia continues to fuel its war machine in Ukraine.
Military technology as a bargaining chip
Experts also warn that Russia could be sharing sensitive technology with Pyongyang.
South Korean officials have raised concerns about North Korea sending knowledge of spy satellites and intercontinental ballistic missiles, which could represent a significant advance in its military capabilities.
Go Myong-hyun, of South Korea's Institute for National Security Strategy, notes that oil may be only part of the equation.
“The exchange of soldiers and weapons suggests a North Korean interest in more strategic gains, such as advanced technology,” he analyzes.
The Moscow-Pyongyang alliance: global risks
The collaboration between Russia and North Korea is shifting geopolitical alliances and increasing risks to global security.
Hugh Griffiths, former head of the UN panel, claims that “Russian oil is being converted into North Korean missiles and munitions, fueling the war machine of both countries.”
Furthermore, he warns that this partnership poses a threat not only to Ukraine, but also to stability on the Korean Peninsula and in the Indo-Pacific.
The war in Ukraine and North Korea's nuclear ambitions are being directly fueled by this alliance, challenging international efforts to contain both crises.
With the dissolution of the sanctions panel, countries appear to be operating with complete impunity, calling into question the effectiveness of global restrictive measures.
A new stability for Pyongyang?
With the continuous supply of oil, North Korea has achieved energy stability that it has not experienced since 2017, when the most severe sanctions were implemented.
This strengthens Kim Jong Un's regime, which uses the resources to fuel munitions factories, military vehicles and missile launchers.
On the other hand, thousands of North Korean soldiers are being deployed to Ukraine, where they are fighting in support of Russian forces.
This dynamic reinforces the mutual dependence between the two regimes, while increasing fears about the escalation of conflicts on different global fronts.
Challenges for the international community
Despite promises of retaliation, such as those made by the United States and South Korea, the international response capacity is limited by Russian influence in the UN Security Council.
Still, global leaders continue to push for tougher measures against Moscow and Pyongyang.
With the alliance between Russia and North Korea threatening regional and international security, the question remains: how can the global community react to this new dynamic that defies sanctions and reshuffles the geopolitical balance?
And do you believe that tougher sanctions can really contain alliances like Russia and North Korea, or are we seeing the emergence of a new global order?
The alliance between Russia and North Korea is vital to force the US and the West and their allies in the East to stop financing wars against Russia and other nations and to have a multipolar world with multiple protagonists. Financing and arming Ukraine against Russia in order to weaken the world's largest nation and the greatest nuclear power was Washington's biggest geopolitical mistake in a century. We hope that the US and the West and their allies in the East will understand that a multipolar world is the path to world peace.
Now, the Empire's sanctions ended up teaching Russia how to deal with its tricks. Since the end of the USSR, Russia has not supported or invaded any country... unlike its armed wing, NATO, which expanded from 6 to 32 countries... towards Moscow... The one who is already paying the bill for this war effort and destabilizing itself economically is Germany... Others will come. European nationalists will have to pay the US for a new Marshall Plan... 🫏