On January 11, the U.S. State Department imposed sanctions against three Russian entities and one individual involved in the transfer and testing of ballistic missiles from North Korea for use by Russia against Ukraine, announced Secretary of State Antony Blinken.
"The DPRK’s transfer of ballistic missiles to Russia supports Russia’s war of aggression, increases the suffering of the Ukrainian people, and undermines the global nonproliferation regime. The United States continues to closely monitor any Russian-provided support to the DPRK in return for these weapons and will use all available tools to designate and expose individuals and entities involved in arms transfers between the DPRK and Russia. We will not hesitate to take further actions," Blinken emphasized.
On January 9, the United States and their partners from around 50 countries condemned the arms shipments between North Korea and Russia, including Moscow's purchases of North Korean ballistic missiles and their use against Ukraine.
On January 10, seven members of the UN Security Council accused Russia of abusing its position as a permanent member of the Security Council by purchasing North Korean missiles and attacking Ukraine in violation of UN resolutions.
Recently, the Ministry of Defence of the United Kingdom, citing its intelligence data, claimed that North Korea could become one of the most important arms suppliers to Russia, alongside Iran and Belarus. British intelligence noted that North Korean munitions have likely already reached storage facilities in western Russia.
Prior to this, the United States stated that over the past few weeks, North Korea delivered over 1000 containers of military equipment and ammunition to Russia. The Kremlin asserted that the U.S. lacks evidence to support these claims.
Analysts from Beyond Parallel in Washington published satellite images showing increased train movement along the border between Russia and North Korea. The heightened activity, according to experts, "likely indicates the supply of weapons and ammunition from North Korea to Russia."
