Midnight light was captured coming from Rajin Port, which the U.S. designated as a location for arms trading between North Korea and Russia, and the North Korea-Russia border. It is believed that operations such as weapons shipment are carried out even at night.
The Voice of America (VOA) reported on the 17th that after checking satellite photos from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) that captured the area from the end of August to the beginning of this month, bright lights were regularly radiating from Rajin Port.
Rajin Port was designated by the White House on the 13th as the site of arms trading between North Korea and Russia. Between late August and early October, four ships were docked at the Rajin Port pier, and a pile of containers was discovered at the pier. A bright light was observed in night photos taken here, suggesting that North Korea and Russia’s weapons shipments are carried out even at night. VOA guessed.
Recently, bright lights began to be seen in the middle of the night in the North Korean side of the North Korea-Russia border across the Duman River. This place is 2km down toward North Korea along the track from the North Korea-Russia Friendship Bridge, which connects North Korea and Russia. Usually, there is a station where trains heading from North Korea to Russia or from Russia to North Korea stop.
This is the location that the White House designated in January as a route through which North Korea and Russia trade arms. VOA previously analyzed satellite images of the area and reported that the number of trains stopping here and the amount of cargo are continuously increasing, and the same movement was seen at night. VOA estimated that, like Rajin Port, weapons shipments are carried out here at night.
The UN Security Council bans North Korea’s arms exports through a number of resolutions, including Resolution 1718.
Circumstances were also confirmed that a ship believed to have transported weapons from North Korea to Russia operated with its Automatic Identification System (AIS) turned off. As a result of VOA checking data from the ship location information website ‘Marine Traffic’, it was found that the Angara, owned by Russia’s M Leasing Company, has not been sending AIS signals since August 10th.
On the 13th, the White House released satellite photos showing how North Korea provided 1,000 containers worth of military equipment and ammunition to Russia, and revealed that two ships were mobilized for the illegal act, one of which was the Angara.
VOA estimated that since the navigation scene was captured in satellite photos released by the White House, it is highly likely that the Angara sailed with AIS turned off intentionally, hiding its location information.
Source: Donga
Mark Jones is a world traveler and journalist for News Rebeat. With a curious mind and a love of adventure, Mark brings a unique perspective to the latest global events and provides in-depth and thought-provoking coverage of the world at large.