PRC harbors ship tied to illicit Russia-North Korea arms transfers

Reuters

The People’s Republic of China (PRC) is providing moorage for a sanctioned Russian cargo ship implicated in North Korean arms transfers to Russia, satellite images show. The Royal United Services Institute (RUSI), a United Kingdom-based think tank, said the Angara — which since August 2023 has transported thousands of containers believed to contain North Korean munitions to Russian ports — has been anchored at a shipyard in China’s eastern Zhejiang province since February 2024.

With Ukraine under Russian assault, United States officials have warned that Beijing is helping rebuild Russia’s military after Moscow’s setbacks since invading Ukraine in February 2022.

The U.S. State Department is aware of “credible, open-source reports” that the Angara is moored at a PRC port and has raised its concerns with Chinese authorities, a spokesperson said.

The State Department also has called on all United Nations member states “to fulfill their obligations” under a U.N. resolution restricting trade with North Korea and requiring U.N. members to de-register any vessels involved in illicit activities.

RUSI obtained satellite images, including from U.S.-based Planet Labs PBC, that showed the Angara docked at Zhoushan Xinya Shipyard, which refers to itself as the PRC’s largest private ship repair company.

The ship was identified after briefly activating its automatic identification system transponder, likely for safety reasons, in a busy stretch of the Korea Strait while en route to the PRC.

Before arriving in the PRC on February 9, the Angara had been docked at North Korean and Russian ports with its transponder off, according to RUSI. It again stopped transmitting shortly after arriving in China.

The ship, sanctioned by the U.S. in May 2022, has conducted at least 11 deliveries between the North Korean port of Rajin and Russian ports since August 2023, according to RUSI, which has been tracking its movements as part of a project to monitor Pyongyang’s sanctions evasion networks.

The U.S. and dozens of other countries have said that North Korean weapons transfers to Russia “flagrantly” violate multiple U.N. Security Council resolutions.

If Chinese authorities allow the Angara to “sail out of port uninspected and newly repaired, then it shows China likely won’t take any action on these Russian vessels,” RUSI research fellow Joseph Byrne said.

Washington has repeatedly asked the PRC not to aid Moscow’s illegal war, which began just weeks after Beijing and Moscow declared a “no-limits” partnership.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken recently said Beijing was the primary contributor to Moscow’s war against Ukraine by providing critical weaponry components.