The Putin-Kim Alliance in Action: Rail Traffic Between the Countries Spike, After Reported Beginning of North Korean Weapons and Ammunitions Deliveries to Russia

The September summit between North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and Russian President Vladimir Putin is beginning to bear fruits.

The allied leaders held a week-long summit in Russia’s Far East last month, involving discussions on military matters, the war in Ukraine and seeking deepening military and economic cooperation.

Now, nearly a month later, there are palpable signs that something big is on the move.

Satellite images reveal that rail traffic along the North Korea-Russia border spiked this week – to the highest in years.

In context, this strongly suggests arms supply by Pyongyang to Moscow. The traffic was greater than what has been observed in the past five years, including pre-pandemic levels.

Reuters reported:

“Satellite imagery showed an “unprecedented” 73 or so freight cars at Tumangang Rail Station in the North Korean border city of Rason, the Beyond Parallel Project of the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies said in a report.

[…] ‘Given that Kim and Putin discussed some military exchanges and cooperation at their recent summit, the dramatic increase in rail traffic likely indicates North Korea’s supply of arms and munitions to Russia’, the think tank said.”

The U.S. and South Korea are closely monitoring the situation.

Yonhap News reported:

“‘However, the extensive use of tarps to cover the shipping crates/containers and equipment makes it impossible to conclusively identify what is seen at the Tumangang Rail Facility’, [the think-tank] added.

[…] Seoul and Washington have criticized any possible transfer of arms between Pyongyang and Moscow, warning they would flout multiple U.N. Security Council resolutions, which Russia itself voted for.”

This comes a couple of days after CBS News reported about the beginning of weapons deliveries, citing a US official.

“North Korea has begun transferring artillery to Russia, bolstering Vladimir Putin’s forces as they continue their 20-month invasion of Ukraine, a U.S. official tells CBS News. It was not immediately clear whether the transfer is part of a new, long-term supply chain or a more limited consignment, or what North Korea is getting in return for the weapons.

[…] Kim told Putin during that meeting that he could count on North Korea’s “full and unconditional support” for Russia’s “sacred fight” to defend its security interests — an apparent reference to the assault on Ukraine.  

[…] Putin implied after the summit that he and Kim had discussed military cooperation, and to at least some degree, that cooperation appeared to be taking shape this week.”