Why increasing North Korean shipments have sparked sanctions scrutiny concerns
While North Korea and its facilitators continue to use a combination of obfuscation methods to evade sanctions, Russia’s increased support for the heavily sanctioned pariah state appears to have coincided with more vessels calling with AIS signals turned on, according to Lloyd’s List Intelligence data
Deepening diplomatic ties between Russia and North Korea has increased clandestine maritime oil-for-arms trades between the two states, but that comes as Russia is seeking to end UN scrutiny of sanctions compliance and illicit maritime activity