North Korea has allegedly imported over a million barrels of oil from Russia this year, flouting United Nations sanctions, according to satellite analysis released by the UK-based Open Source Centre and the BBC on Friday.

Russia appears to have been supplying North Korea with more than a million barrels of oil, as well as air defence missiles, in exchange for thousands of troops and a steady supply of artillery shells.

Seoul says the missiles have been given to North Korea by Russia in exchange for thousands of troops to help Moscow in its war against Ukraine.View on euronews

North Korea did not send troops to fight in the war against Ukraine for free. Russia provided North Korea with oil, missiles, and air defense systems, according to a report from the Institute for the Study of War (ISW).

New satellite images have revealed a bold move by Russia: secretly supplying North Korea with over 1 million barrels of oil this year. This discovery was made by analyzing the movement of ships between Russia and North Korea through satellite images.