Russia has provided North Korea with its air defence system, electronic warfare jamming devices and other military support since late last year, in blatant violations of UN sanctions amid

their deepening ties, an international monitoring report released by Seoul’s Foreign Ministry showed on Thursday. Since November 2024, Moscow has transferred at least one Pantsir mobile air

defence system and one Pantsir-class combat vehicle to Pyongyang, the Multilateral Sanctions Monitoring Team (MSMT) said in its first report on the sanctions enforcement. Advertisement The

MSMT was established in October last year with the initiative of South Korea and the United States as an alternative framework to the UN Panel of Experts on North Korean sanctions

North, is the MSMT’s first assessment on the sanctions enforcement since its launch. The findings were based on the intelligence and other information provided by the participating countries

and data from private research institutes. The Pantsir missile system is made up of self-propelled, medium-range surface-to-air missiles and anti-aircraft artillery systems. A South Korean

lawmaker has recently mentioned the weapons systems unveiled on the North’s new Choe Hyon destroyer as bearing a marked resemblance to the Russian Pantsir system. The report also found that

North Korea has supplied Russia with more than 20,000 containers worth of military supplies since September 2023. The shipments include approximately 9 million rounds of artillery and

multiple rocket launcher ammunition, more than 100 ballistic missiles and over 200 heavy artillery pieces, as well as anti-tank guided missiles and rockets, Yonhap news agency reported.

These transfers make up enough supplies to equip three full brigades, the report said. Russian transport aircraft were used for the arms transfers between November and December 2023. They

include three IL-76 and three AN-124 military planes belonging to the Russian Transport Aviation Command, the report said. Russia has also provided the North with missile performance data

and technical support to enhance Pyongyang’s missile guidance capabilities, in a clear violation of UN Security Council (UNSC) resolutions against Pyongyang, which Russia itself voted for as

a permanent UNSC member. The report stated that North Korea sent over 11,000 troops to Russia in 2024, with an additional 3,000 soldiers dispatched recently. Those soldiers were trained by

the Russian military on artillery drone countermeasures and basic infantry operations. The report said that the two countries have engaged in high-level exchanges between top military

officials, suggesting the deepening ties following the signing of a bilateral defence treaty between Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un at their June summit

last year. Russia provided the North with more than 1 million barrels of fuel between March and October last year, the report said. The UNSC sanctions cap North Korea’s annual imports of

refined petroleum at 500,000 barrels. About 8,000 North Korean workers have been sent to Russia to work in construction, IT and other sectors, also a breach of the sanctions banning the

hiring of North Koreans overseas. The report also found that financial transactions between the two countries are being made through North Korea-owned ruble-denominated bank accounts set up

in South Ossetia, a Russia-backed autonomous state in Georgia. The report is a “product of our efforts to address the monitoring gap arising from the disbandment” of the UN panel, a joint

statement released by the foreign ministry read. “We underscore once again our shared determination to fully implement relevant UN Security Council resolutions … and continue our efforts to

monitor the implementation,” the statement said. Advertisement