LONDON/MOSCOW: Russian tankers have supplied fuel to North Korea on atleast three occasions in recent months by transferring cargoes at sea,according to two senior Western European security sources, providing aneconomic lifeline to the secretive Communist state.
The sales of oil or oil products from Russia — the world’s second-biggestoil exporter and a veto-wielding member of the United Nations SecurityCouncil — breach UN sanctions, the security sources said.
The transfers in October and November indicate that smuggling from Russiato North Korea has evolved to loading cargoes at sea since Reuters reportedin September that North Korean ships were sailing directly from Russia totheir homeland.
“Russian vessels have made ship-to-ship transfers of petrochemicals toNorth Korean vessels on several occasions this year in breach ofsanctions,” the first security source, who spoke on condition of anonymity,told Reuters.
A second source, who independently confirmed the existence of the Russianship-to-ship fuel trade with North Korea, said there was no evidence ofRussian state involvement in the latest transfers.
“There is no evidence that this is backed by the Russian state but theseRussian vessels are giving a lifeline to the North Koreans,” the secondEuropean security source said.
The two security sources cited naval intelligence and satellite imagery ofthe vessels operating out of Russian Far Eastern ports on the Pacific butdeclined to disclose further details to Reuters, saying it was classified.
Russia’s Foreign Ministry and the Russian Customs Service both declined tocomment when asked on Wednesday if Russian ships had supplied fuel to NorthKorean vessels.
The owner of one ship accused of smuggling oil to North Korea denied anysuch activity.
The latest report came as China, responding on Friday to criticism from USPresident Donald Trump, denied it had illicitly shipped oil products toNorth Korea.
North Korea relies on imported fuel to keep its struggling economyfunctioning. It also requires oil for its intercontinental ballisticmissile and itsnuclear program that the United States says threatens thepeace in Asia.
“The vessels are smuggling Russian fuel from Russian Far Eastern ports toNorth Korea,” said the first security source, who spoke on condition ofanonymity.
Reuters was unable to independently verify that the vessels had transferredfuel to North Korean vessels, whether the Russian state knew about thesales or how many Russian vessels were involved in the transfers. It wasalso unclear how much fuel may have been smuggled.
Ship satellite positioning data consulted by Reuters and available onReuters Eikon shows unusual movements by some of the Russian vessels namedby the security sources including switching off the transponders which givea precise location.
The security sources said the Russian-flagged tanker Vityaz was one vesselthat had transferred fuel to North Korean vessels.