September 25, 2024: In July 2024 officials from Russian and North Korea signed agreements for scientific and engineering cooperation regarding missile technology. This announcement was a public acknowledgement of a relationship that long existed covertly. This agreement was Russia’s way of telling the world that North Korean sales of missiles and other weapons to Russia during the Ukraine War would continue and increase. An examination of the debris from missiles that were used in Ukraine revealed North Korean components.

In Ukraine Russia soon discovered that it did not have an endless supply of missiles. Russia increased production of ballistic and cruise missiles but economic sanctions limited how many they could produce. Russia also has few allies. North Korea and Iran have been helpful but Iran is now at war with Israel and North Korean production facilities are limited. The agreement with Russia involves Russian material and technical assistance to increase North Korean ballistic missile facilities.

So far North Korea has sent Russia over five million 152mm artillery shells in addition to the missiles. North Korea has several other customers. For decades North Korea has been smuggling weapons to customers around the world. Until recently Russia was a North Korean partner. The two countries cooperated in developing, building and delivering the weapons to Russian and North Korean customers.

The Ukraine War changed this relationship. Russian forces have been fighting in Ukraine for over two years. Russia invaded in early 2022 expecting a quick victory. The Ukrainian did not cooperate and now Russia is losing its war in Ukraine. In 2023 Russia purchased some weapons from North Korea and shipped them via sea and railroad to a Russian supply center about 300 kilometers from Ukraine. In June 2024 Russian and North Korean officials signed a partnership agreement. This treaty obliged both countries to assist each other with military supplies during an emergency or when called upon. At the moment Russia is purchasing all the weapons and munitions North Korea can produce.

Since both North Korea and Russia are forced to operate under Western economic sanctions, it is difficult to obtain the use of a ship that can carry North Korean or Russian cargo safely. First North Korea, in 2006 and then Russia in 2022 were placed under economic sanctions. North Korea was sanctioned internationally in 2006 but the United States imposed its own sanctions in 2005. The United States accounts for much of world trade so American sanctions can temporarily cripple a sanctioned nation's use of their own or chartered cargo ships or oil tankers. North Korea has found ways around this and passed on what they knew to Russia. North Korean and Russian ships are still at risk and some are caught because of fraudulent documents, or the Americans using electronic and space-based video monitoring to see where suspect ships are actually going.

For years North Korean commercial ships regularly traveled with their mandatory position transponders turned off. This violates international shipping agreements but the North Koreans, and now the Russians don’t care because both are outlaw states and do whatever it takes to keep some of their commercial ships operational. When ships from these countries carry Russian or North Korean cargo, they can deliver it to a Russian or North Korean port without penalty or any harassment from nations enforcing the shipping sanctions on Russia and North Korea.

This is how Russia is shipping North Korean weapons from North Korean ports or the Russian Pacific coast port of Vladivostok despite the sanctions. Russia has become heavily dependent on North Korean munitions and weapons, which are the same caliber as Russian weapons. This is because Russia has been a major supplier of weapons and munitions to North Korea since the end of World War II. The trade has benefited North Korea because Russia can ship in food via the Trans-Siberian railroad or by ship. North Korea has been chronically short of food since the 1990s and additional Russian food supplies pay for the North Korean munitions going to Russia.

Another thing North Korea has in its favor is that Chinese shipbuilders produce most of the cargo and tanker ships used by international shipping firms. While the ships come from China, the crews come from many other countries and shipping insurance is provided by Western firms if these ships are technically in compliance with shipping regulations. Major shipping insurance companies have been established in Japan, Singapore, Chinese controlled Hong Kong and Singapore. China has become a supplier of all manner of material and monetary services for shady operations like the North Korean and sanctions Russian merchant fleets.