Increasing NK

North Korean and Russian flags are seen at the Vostochny cosmodrome outside the city of Tsiolkovsky, about 200 kilometers from the city of Blagoveshchensk in the Russian Far East's Amur region, Sept. 13. AP-Yonhap

Russia denies purchasing arms from PyongyangBy Nam Hyun-woo

The suspected arms shipments from North Korea to Russia are showing signs of growing, despite the international community's increasing condemnation.

The United Kingdom's Ministry of Defence wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter, Thursday (local time), that it is "almost certain" that North Korean munitions have reached ammunition depots in western Russia, which supports Moscow's military operations in Ukraine.

"If North Korea sustains the recent scale and pace of military-related shipments (more than 1,000 containers over the last several weeks), it will be on course to become one of Russia's most significant foreign arms suppliers, alongside Iran and Belarus," the ministry wrote.

Voice of America also reported Friday (Korea Time) that railway shipping activities are increasing in the border areas between the North and Russia, citing satellite images provided by Planet Labs.

In the photos showing railways near the North Korea-Russia Friendship Bridge in the North's Rason city from Oct. 20 to 26, cargo trains covered with blue tarpaulins appeared and disappeared, with a cargo yard nearby showing an increase in the volume of goods.

The news outlet reported that "the satellite images captured the location where the White House pointed out as the venue of North Korea-Russia arms trade in January" and "it is assumed that there have been many activities in the past week."

The U.S. said on Oct. 13 that North Korea delivered 1,000 containers of equipment and munitions to Russia for its Ukraine war, citing satellite images. White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said that the U.S. believes North Korea is seeking Russian weapons technologies in return for refiling Russia's munitions, in order to boost Pyongyang's military and nuclear program.

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un shakes hands with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in Pyongyang in this image captured from an Oct. 20 report by the North's official Korean Central Television. Yonhap

Despite denials from Russia and North Korea, speculation is flaring that the alleged arms shipments are the result of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un's visit last month to Russia, where he met Russian President Vladimir Putin and visited key military sites.

It is unclear what Russia has agreed to provide North Korea in return, but the U.K. defense ministry said that is highly likely to be "one of the primary discussion topics during recent senior-level Russian visits to North Korea" and suspected financial compensation and military and space technologies could be included in the package.

The U.S. also has said that Pyongyang seeks to obtain military hardware including fighter jets, surface-to-air missiles, armored vehicles and other advanced weapon technologies.

Against that backdrop, international condemnation is growing on the purported Pyongyang-Moscow arms transfers.

On Thursday, South Korean Foreign Minister Park Jin, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Japanese Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa released a joint statement saying they confirmed weapon deliveries were completed.

"We are deeply concerned about the potential for any transfer of nuclear- or ballistic missile-related technology to the DPRK," the statement reads, referring to the North by its official name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.

"Such transfers would jeopardize the ongoing efforts of the international community to keep sensitive technologies out of the hands of actors who are working to destabilize regional security, threaten peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula as well as across the globe."

European Union lead spokesperson for foreign affairs Peter Stano also told Voice of America that "Any kind of support or military support from North Korea to Russia will be met with an appropriate response."

Regarding the statement, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said in a press briefing that "there are many such reports, they are all groundless as a rule, there are no specifics," adding "North Korea is our neighbor and we continue and will continue to develop close relations in all areas."