U.S. and allies accuse North Korea and Russia of flagrantly violating UN sanctions in military deals
North Korean Public Security Minister Pang Tu Sop, right, meets with Russian Vice Interior Minister Vitaly Shulika at the Mansudae Assembly Hall in Pyongyang, North Korea Wednesday, May 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Jon Chol Jin)
UNITED NATIONS — The U.S. and 10 allies on Thursday said the military cooperation between Russia and North Korea flagrantly violates UN sanctions and has helped Moscow increase its missile strikes on Ukrainian cities.
They made the accusations in their first report since joining forces to monitor sanctions against North Korea after Russia vetoed a resolution in March 2024 to continue the monitoring by a UN Security Council panel of experts. It had been issuing reports of Pyongyang's sanctions violations since 2010.
The 29-page report produced by the Multilateral Sanctions Monitoring Team — comprised of the U.S., Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Netherlands, New Zealand, South Korea and the United Kingdom — said the evidence it gathered demonstrates that North Korea and Russia have engaged in 'myriad unlawful activities' explicitly prohibited by UN sanctions resolutions.
It said North Korea has transferred arms and related materiel by sea, air and rail, including artillery, ballistic missiles and combat vehicles, for Russia's use in the war in Ukraine.
Russia has transferred air defense systems to North Korea, and its forces trained the North's troops deployed to support Russia's war, the team said. And Moscow also has supplied refined petroleum products to Pyongyang in far excess of the yearly cap under UN sanctions, and has maintained corresponding banking relations with the North in violation of sanctions.
The 11 countries said this unlawful cooperation has 'contributed to Moscow's ability to increase its missile attacks against Ukrainian cities including targeted strikes against critical civilian infrastructure.'
The cooperation also has provided resources for North Korea to fund its military and banned ballistic missile programs., and it allowed the more than 11,000 troops Pyongyang has deployed to Russia since October 2024 to gain first-hand military experience, the team said.
There was no immediate response from the Russian Mission to the United Nations to a request for comment on the report.
The report covers the period between Jan. 1, 2024, and April 30, 2025, and points to evidence that Russia and North Korea intend to further deepen their military cooperation for at least the foreseeable future.
It cites an unnamed country in the team reporting that Russian-flagged cargo vessels delivered as many as 9 million rounds of ammunition for artillery and multiple rocket launchers from North Korea to Russia in 2024.
The report includes images of containers, which the team says were from North Korean and Russian ports and an ammunition dump in Russia.
Citing an unnamed team member, the report says North Korea last year transferred at least 100 ballistic missiles to Russia, which were launched into Ukraine 'to destroy civilian infrastructure and terrorize populated areas such as Kyiv and Zaporizhzhia.' It also transferred 'elements of three brigade sets of heavy artillery,' the report said.
It includes images of a North Korean 170mm self-propelled gun that it said was being transported through Russia, and North Korean multiple rocket launcher ammunition and an anti-tank missile it said were found in Ukraine.
The team said in a joint statement that it will continue to monitor implementation of UN resolutions 'and raise awareness of ongoing attempts to violate and evade UN sanctions.' It urged North Korea 'to engage in meaningful diplomacy.'
The Security Council imposed sanctions after North Korea's first nuclear test explosion in 2006 and tightened them over the years in a total of 10 resolutions seeking — so far unsuccessfully — to cut funds and curb its nuclear and ballistic missile programs.
The last sanctions resolution was adopted by the council in December 2017. China and Russia vetoed a U.S.-sponsored resolution in May 2022 that would have imposed new sanctions over a spate of intercontinental ballistic missile launches, and have blocked all other UN action against North Korea.
Edith M. Lederer, The Associated Press
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