Pyongyang, North Korea

A dormant port of North Korea, which is located close to the border with Russia, has come back to life suddenly.

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Experts say this has happened in the wake of the burgeoning trade in arms that are set to reach the frontlines in Ukraine, simultaneously bolstering Kim Jong Un's anaemic economy. 

In the Najin port's satellite imagery from October to December, a steady stream of ships was seen at the facility.

Hundreds of shipping containers were getting loaded and unloaded, and rail care was being prepared for transportation of goods, according to reports.

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It appeared that the activity picked pace in early October after the United States accused North Korea of providing munitions to Russia. 

Images were provided by the White House which showed weapons later getting delivered thousands of miles away to a depot which is located in the Russian town of Tikhoretsk for use in Ukraine.

Also read: South Korea's upgraded warship, Cheonan, begins mission amidst North Korean tensions

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The transfer of munitions between the US and South Korea included hundreds of thousands of artillery shells which can grow more important as the US Congress and European Union remain divided over military aid which threatens the ability of Kyiv to repel the invasion of Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Pyongyang refutes accusations of supplying arms

“Pyongyang’s decision to deliver munitions at scale once again underscores the grave threat that North Korea poses to international security, this time feeding a conflagration on European soil that has already cost the lives of tens of thousands of Ukrainians and consumed tens of billions of dollars in Western military support,” as per a report by the Royal United Services Institute, which is a UK security think tank, as reported by Bloomberg.

Pyongyang, which was banned from the sale of arms for the last 15 years, has again and again refuted accusations of supplying arms to Russia.

The satellite data's analysis, however, suggests otherwise, as per Bloomberg.

In one of the images dated December 9, the Russian container ship Angara, which was sanctioned by the US, was seen unloading cargo in Najin’s port while containers from North Korea were waiting for loading at an adjacent pier.

Watch: Japan, US, South Korea share real-time data on North Korea's missiles 

“Satellite imagery shows that round trips of cargo vessels between Najin, North Korea, and Dunay, Russia, have continued unabatedly despite additional US sanctions and widespread reporting on this activity in the past few months,” said Jaewoo Shin, an analyst at the Open Nuclear Network in Vienna, while speaking to Bloomberg.

Shin added that though the nature of the cargo cannot be confirmed with the imagery available, the number of transferred containers and round trips suggest that the two countries have been indulging in a significant and ongoing exchange, which includes weapons and other military supplies. 

(With inputs from agencies)