Russia has shipped over 130,000 tons of coal to North Korea via a rail bridge this year, according to a new report, the first confirmation of overland coal deliveries since 2021.

While it is legal for the Russian company involved to tranship coal through the DPRK, one expert raised concerns that North Korea could use the shipments to disguise sanctioned coal exports as a way to raise funds for the regime.

Analysts at the U.K.-registered market intelligence firm Argus concluded that “Russian coal sellers in April started to ship coal to the North Korean port