North Korea has acquired two formerly foreign-flagged oil tankers through Chinese middlemen, a draft of a forthcoming U.N. Panel of Experts (PoE) report seen by NK Pro shows.

The latest additions to the country’s oil tanker fleet, the Woo Jeong and Xin Hai, bring nearly 8,000 deadweight tons of additional capacity and potentially expand North Korea’s range of options to evade sanctions. 

Go Myong-hyun, a research fellow at the Asan Institute for Policy Studies, said the recent acquisitions may enhance the North’s ability to import refined petroleum, but added that the vessels