A Russian cargo ship that has been sanctioned for facilitating illicit weapons trade with North Korea appeared at a northeastern DPRK port this week for the first time in two months, likely as part of ongoing arms shipments.

According to NK Pro analysis of Planet Labs satellite imagery, the Lady R cargo ship dropped off shipping containers at Rason Port on Wednesday, after appearing to prepare for the shipment at Russia’s Vostochny Port from Sept. 24 to 26.

The vessel is likely to move to an adjacent pier at Rason on Thursday to pick up shipping containers that have been piling up since mid-September.

The U.S., Ukraine and South Korea have accused North Korea of sending millions of artillery shells and various other weapons such as Hwasong-11 series short-range ballistic missiles and anti-tank guided missiles to Russia for use in its invasion of Ukraine.

The precise contents of the shipping containers being picked up by Russia since Aug. 2023 remains unknown, while the two countries may also be conducting weapons trade via a cross-border rail link.

It is also unclear what the Russian ships have been dropping off in the containers at Rason, but the apparent lack of urgency in delivering the containers elsewhere — leaving them at the pier for weeks at a time — may mean they are often empty. 

The Lady R belongs to Russian shipping company MG-Flot, formerly known as TransMorFlot, an entity sanctioned by the U.S. government as part of sectoral restrictions imposed on Russia’s maritime industry after Moscow invaded Ukraine in 2022. 

NK Pro was first to identify the ship’s participation in the Russia-North Korea weapons scheme in Oct. 2023, after the U.S. revealed details of the operation involving a similar ship called the Angara earlier the same month. South Korea sanctioned the Lady R in April 2024.

Planet Labs satellite imagery shows that the Angara visited Vostochny Port on Aug. 8, suggesting it was the vessel involved in a suspected drop-off and pick-up at Rason between Aug. 4 and 10.

The lack of new activity at the Rason pick-up pier between early August and this week suggests Russia and North Korea paused the sea-based weapons shipping operation for almost two months, though it may have continued during that time by railway.

It’s possible there was waning demand for DPRK arms amid a slowing Russian advance and after Moscow and Pyongyang declared victory in Kursk over the summer — a campaign in which North Korea has sent over 10,000 troops to join combat against Ukraine since Oct. 2024.

However, Russia appears to remain committed to attacking Ukraine despite international efforts to bring the war to a close, meaning Pyongyang’s arms assistance is likely to remain active at least until the fighting stops.

Edited by Alannah Hill