Head of SVR Naryshkin spent three days in Pyongyang

Head of the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service, Sergey Naryshkin, paid a three-day visit to North Korea. This was reported by the official North Korean agency CTAK on Thursday, the information was subsequently confirmed by the SVR.

The visit took place against the background of reports of the supply of ammunition from the DPRK to Russia and oil from Russia to the DPRK – in violation of international sanctions.

As stated in the message of the Central Committee of the Russian Federation, the visit took place on March 25-27, the parties discussed in Pyongyang “business issues to further strengthen cooperation in response to the intrigues of hostile forces.” The message also states that the Minister of Foreign Economic Affairs of the DPRK Yun Jong-ho went to Moscow for negotiations.

The SVR reported that Naryshkin in Pyongyang discussed “the deepening of cooperation in the conditions of demands for increased pressure from external forces”, and the negotiations took place “in a warm friendly atmosphere.”

The other day, the Financial Times newspaper reported that Russia has begun directly supplying oil to North Korea, despite UN sanctions against Pyongyang. According to the publication, oil deliveries began on March 7 – these are the first documented deliveries since the introduction of UN sanctions. According to satellite images, at least five North Korean oil tankers left the Russian port of Vostochny in the Far East in March. Then the two ships went to the North Korean port of Chongjin, where, apparently, they unloaded, writes the Financial Times.

• Supposedly, in August of last year, the DPRK began supplying Russia with ammunition, which was used by Moscow in the war with Ukraine.
• In February, The New York Times reported that in exchange for ammunition, Russia allowed the DPRK to gain access to the global financial system, and also unblocked some of the North Korean assets under UN sanctions. In addition, sources say that Moscow allowed Pyongyang to open a bank account on the territory of partially recognized South Ossetia. Georgia considers this territory occupied by Russia.
• In October 2023, White House National Security Adviser John Kirby said that North Korea had provided Russia with a batch of weapons. The White House has published a photo that purports to show a shipment of ammunition from a warehouse in North Korea. The weapons were loaded onto a ship under the Russian flag and sent to a warehouse on the southwestern border of Russia.
• Seven member countries of the UN Security Council accused Russia of violating the embargo on military-technical cooperation with Pyongyang.
• The United States on Wednesday announced the introduction of sanctions against six individuals and two companies based in Russia, China and the United Arab Emirates, accusing them of transferring funds to North Korea’s weapons program. The list includes citizens of North Korea, as well as the Vladivostok-based Alis company and Pioneer Bencont Star Real Estate, a company registered in the UAE. The statement from the US Treasury says that both companies are part of the Chinyong Information Technology Cooperation, which is connected to the armed forces of North Korea. Sanctions were introduced against her earlier.