Border trains uptick hints arms transfer
Train cars covered with tarps are suspected to contain munitions and weapons for Moscow.
Daily TribuneTrain cars covered with tarps are suspected to contain munitions and weapons for Moscow.
An unprecedented uptick in the number of freight cars in North Korea's border with Russia suggests the transfer of weapons, according to a new report by Washington analyst Beyond Parallel.
High-resolution satellite imagery reveals at least 70 freight cars at North Korea's Tumangang Rail Facility, the group said Friday.
No more than 20 cars had been seen in the railyard over the previous five years, the report said.
Tarps covering the shipping containers made it impossible to "conclusively identify" their contents, the report added.
The analysis comes a day after CBS News cited an unnamed US official as saying North Korea had begun transferring artillery to Russia for use in its war in Ukraine.
The potential arms transfer comes after last month's face-to-face meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. The meeting sparked widespread concern among Kyiv's allies over the possibility of a potential arms deal between the two countries.
WITH AFP
