Pyongyang is accused of sending thousands of containers of ammunition to Moscow for use in the war against Ukraine.
Japan and South Korea announced separate sanctions packages against companies, ships or individuals allegedly involved in supplying North Korean weapons to Russia for use in Ukraine, in violation of United Nations resolutions.
Friday’s announcements come just days before the leaders of South Korea, Japan and China meet in Seoul for their first trilateral summit in nearly five years.
Recently, Pyongyang was accused of sending thousands of containers of ammunition to Russia, and experts said Pyongyang’s recent series of tests could be of weapons intended for use on battlefields in Ukraine.
On Friday, the Japanese government’s top spokesman, Yoshimasa Hayashi, said Tokyo “strongly condemns” the alleged deals.
“We cooperated with allies like the United States to freeze the assets of 11 groups and one individual involved in Russia-North Korea military assistance aimed at supporting Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine,” he told reporters.
“This violates UN security resolutions that categorically prohibit the transfer of weapons and related materials to North Korea.”
Japanese newspaper Asahi reported that nine of the groups and the individual were in Russia, while the other two organizations, based in Cyprus, allegedly helped transport weapons from North Korea.
In August, the US Treasury Department imposed similar sanctions, saying Russia was consuming munitions and losing heavy equipment in Ukraine, forcing Moscow to turn to its few allies, including Pyongyang, for support.
Russia has been waging war against Ukraine since 2014 and launched a full-scale invasion against its former Soviet satellite state in 2022.
Moscow-Pyongyang ties
Also on Friday, South Korea imposed its own sanctions on two Russian and seven North Korean ships for various activities, including the alleged trade in military supplies between Moscow and Pyongyang.
The ships “were transporting a large number of containers between Russia and North Korea, transporting military supplies,” Seoul’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement.
Last week, Pyongyang denied accusations it was sending weapons to Russia, saying it had “no intention of exporting our military technical capabilities to any country.”
But North Korea has recently strengthened ties with Moscow.
North Korea thanked Russia last month for using its UN Security Council veto to block the renewal of a panel of experts monitoring international sanctions on leader Kim Jong Un’s regime.
Seoul said on Friday that one of the recently sanctioned North Koreans was allegedly involved in discussions to facilitate arms deals with a member of Russia’s Wagner Group from 2022 to 2023.
Another was committed to bringing diesel – a material critical to Pyongyang’s nuclear and missile development programs – from Russia to North Korea, he added.
Five additional North Koreans were involved in helping raise funds to support Pyongyang’s nuclear and missile programs, earning foreign currency as IT workers while residing “illegally in Vladivostok.”
Last month, Russia described South Korea’s sanctions on Russian individuals and entities as a “hostile measure” and warned it would respond in due course.
This story originally appeared on Aljazeera.com read the full story
