In alliance with Putin

UN North Korea report: weapons, hackers, luxury goods

North Korea's ruler Kim Jong Un visited Russia in September and met President Vladimir Putin.

(Bild: AFP)

North Korea, which is largely isolated globally, imported significantly more goods last year and expanded its trade with new partner Russia. The total volume of trade in 2023 far exceeded that of 2022, "accompanied by the return of a large number of foreign goods, some of which could be classified as luxury items", according to a confidential UN expert report that Deutsche Presse-Agentur was able to view in New York.

However, the import of such luxury goods is prohibited in the authoritarian country. North Korea had largely sealed itself off in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic - trade came to an almost complete standstill.

By September alone, imports had risen to 1.4 billion dollars (1.3 billion euros) - compared to just 911 million dollars in the whole of 2022, the report said. According to the report, North Korea's largest trading partner by far is China. By the fall, trade with Moscow had also grown to a volume of 28 million dollars - with the exception of sanctioned goods, however. These also include arms deliveries to Russia, which the report also mentions.

North Korea is subject to far-reaching UN sanctions and import bans due to its nuclear program. The report is the first of two annual documents from the panel of experts. It was submitted to the UN Security Council at the end of last week.

A North Korean missile test

(Bild: North Korean State Media)

Artillery ammunition delivered to Putin
North Korea's ruler Kim Jong Un visited Russia in September and met President Vladimir Putin. The two agreed to expand cooperation in "all areas", and cooperation between the two countries was indeed significantly intensified as a result. The White House announced in October that North Korea had sent Russia more than 1,000 containers of military equipment and ammunition for the war in Ukraine.

The UN report also refers to the containers and possible evidence, citing a high-ranking representative of a "member state": a satellite image published by the US government is said to show two ships flying the Russian flag transporting numerous containers from the North Korean port city of Rason to Dunai in Russia. These were then transported by rail to a Russian munitions depot near the Ukrainian border. The UN experts emphasize that they cannot verify what was in the containers.

A Maybach limousine from Mercedes

(Bild: Daimler)

More Western luxury for the elites
The report also states that sanctioned goods from abroad are increasingly to be found in North Korea. In some cities, for example, there are department stores offering Western luxury products. A "considerable number of foreign motor vehicles" have also been noted in North Korea: "An apparently new Mercedes-Benz Maybach GLS 600 SUV and a Maybach S650 sedan were seen being used by Kim Jong Un and high-ranking officials in November and December." Designer bags and clothing from the French brand Dior, among others, were also worn by high-ranking government officials.

According to the report, a submarine presented in North Korea in September, from which nuclear weapons could theoretically be launched, poses no threat to other countries in the foreseeable future. It has not yet been tested on the open sea "and its ability to conduct and withstand a ballistic missile launch underwater or above the water surface remains hypothetical", it says.

Hackers bring money for the nuclear program
North Korea continues to develop its nuclear weapons and has produced nuclear fissile material - even though the last known nuclear test took place in 2017, the report continued. The enormous costs would apparently continue to be financed by hacker attacks on companies related to cryptocurrencies. A total of 58 cyberattacks are being investigated, with which hackers are said to have stolen around three billion dollars on behalf of Kim Jong Un in recent months.