In December 2022, Russia resumed oil supplies to North Korea
At the end of 2022, Russia began selling oil to the DPRK again. This was preceded by a two-year pause.
This is evidenced by data from the UN Security Council Committee on North Korea.
Countries are obliged to notify the Committee of any sales of sanctioned goods to the DPRK. The Committee, in turn, publishes this information.
On June 9, the Committee's website was updated to include data on Russian supplies for the period from December 2022 to April 2023.
Russia supplied the most oil to the DPRK in January 2023 — 44 thousand barrels. After that, the volume of supplies has been declining every month.
Russia stopped supplying petroleum products to North Korea in August 2020, as the DPRK imposed an embargo on international trade. This was the North Korean regime's response to the coronavirus pandemic.
The resumption of shipments coincided with the alleged supply of weapons from North Korea to Russia. In December 2022, the US State Department announced that the Wagner PMC had received North Korean weapons.
As a reminder, on June 12, North Korean dictator Kim Jong-Un congratulated Putin on the anniversary of the Declaration of Sovereignty of the Russian Soviet Socialist Federal Republic. He announced his intention to further develop strategic relations with Russia and "hold hands" with Putin.
