South Korea on Sunday accused longtime rival North Korea of continuing “illegal” exports of coal and minerals last year in violation of UN sanctions, with coal exports reaching 1.5 million tons, according to media reports.
Seoul’s spy agency, the National Intelligence Service (NIS), assessed that North Korea’s imports of refined oil from China and Russia in 2025 also exceeded seven times the 500,000-barrel cap set by the UN, according to Yu Yong-weon, a lawmaker from the main opposition People Power Party.
Yu claimed that Pyongyang has continued to export minerals, such as coal and iron ore, “which are completely banned under UN Security Council sanctions resolutions, by using both North Korean-flagged and foreign-flagged cargo vessels from China, Russia and third countries, in addition to smuggling in refined petroleum products.
“In particular, North Korea’s coal exports were estimated at around 1.5 million tons, and it is believed to have recently sought to increase exports to China and third countries by falsely labeling the coal as Russian in origin,” he added.
UN Security Council resolutions ban North Korea from exporting coal and other minerals that could be used to generate revenue for the development of nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles.
The NIS also claimed that North Korea is continuing to purchase oil from China and its main supply route, Russia, amid deepening ties with Moscow.
It further alleged that from September 2023 to April, North Korea supplied “large quantities” of artillery shells and hundreds of short-range ballistic missiles to Russia, in exchange for military technologies related to drones and missiles.
