SEOUL – Recent satellite tv for pc pictures display a pointy building up in rail traffic alongside the North Korea-Russia border, indicating the North is supplying munitions to Russia, in accordance to a U.S. think tank.
Speculation a couple of imaginable North Korean plan to fill up Russia’s munition retail outlets tired in its protracted battle with Ukraine flared final month, when North Korean chief Kim Jong Un traveled to Russia to meet President Vladimir Putin and seek advice from key army websites. Foreign officers suspect Kim is looking for refined Russian guns applied sciences in go back for the munition to spice up his nuclear program.
“Given that Kim and Putin discussed some military exchanges and cooperation at their recent summit, the dramatic increase in rail traffic likely indicates North Korea’s supply of arms and munitions to Russia,” Beyond Parallel, a website online run by means of the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies think tank, mentioned in a record Friday.
“However, the extensive use of tarps to cover the shipping crates/containers and equipment makes it impossible to conclusively identify what is seen at the Tumangang Rail Facility” on the border, it said.
The report said satellite images as of Oct. 5 captured “a dramatic and unprecedented level of freight railcar traffic” on the Tumangang Rail Facility. It mentioned photographs display roughly 73 railcars whilst a overview of earlier satellite tv for pc photographs over the last 5 years displays about 20 railcars at this facility at maximum.
U.S. and South Korean officials have warned that North Korea and Russia would face consequences if they went ahead with the reported weapons transfer deal in violation with U.N. Security Council resolutions that ban all weapons trade involving North Korea.
Since final 12 months, the U.S. has accused North Korea of offering ammunition, artillery shells and rockets to Russia, most probably a lot of them copies of Soviet-era munitions. South Korean officers mentioned North Korean guns supplied to Russia had already been used in Ukraine.