Yury Kobzar15:03, 08.10.23

Unprecedented activity on the border of the two states began 5 days after Putin’s meeting with Kim.

On the border between Russia and North Korea, rail transport activity has sharply increased and the construction of presumably warehouses has begun, which may indicate the beginning of deliveries of Korean weapons for the needs of the Russian army. This was reported by the Beyond Parallel project of the American Center for Strategic and International Studies, citing satellite photos at its disposal.

Thus, a satellite image dated October 5 recorded a record increase in freight cars at the railway station in the North Korean city of Tumangan, on the border with Russia. In total, observers counted 73 cars.

It is noted that this intensification of rail traffic at this facility is the maximum in recent years. Even in pre-pandemic years, activity in Tumangan was lower. The unprecedented nature of the situation is also indicated by the fact that some kind of construction began next to the railway station – presumably an additional warehouse.

“Given that Kim and Putin discussed several issues of military exchange and cooperation at the last summit, the sharp increase in rail traffic likely indicates that North Korea is supplying arms and ammunition to Russia, likely intended to support Russia in its war with Ukraine,” the publication says.

It is noted that unusual activity at the facility, as evidenced by satellite images, began on the fifth day after Vladimir Putin’s meeting with North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un in Vladivostok in mid-September. This activity is only increasing day by day, in particular, the number of freight cars in Tumangan is constantly increasing.

It is noteworthy that on November 18, 2022, the satellite recorded five Russian carriages from Khasan at this facility – it was then that the White House announced that North Korea was supplying weapons to the Russian “Wagner Group”. 

The Beyond Parallel project also noted that work on modernizing the railway track is noticeable around the site, which indicates the intention not only to restore border traffic to pre-COVID-19 levels, but to further expand its capacity. 

Beyond Parallel has prohibited the republishing of satellite images themselves without additional approval. Photos are available on the project website .

Meeting between Putin and Kim Jong-un

As UNIAN wrote, on September 13, Kim Jong-un’s multi-day visit to the Russian Far East began . On the first day, he met with Vladimir Putin, during which they visited the cosmodrome and held closed negotiations.

The world press called the main goal of this mini-summit negotiations on the supply of North Korean artillery ammunition and artillery itself for the needs of the Russian army in Ukraine. The stocks of these weapons in the DPRK are simply enormous. However, following the visit, the parties did not make any public statements on this topic .

(C)UNIAN 2023