Back in Black: North Korea's Resurgent Coal Trade

New analysis by the Open Source Centre shows that North Korea has revived its illicit natural resource trade, using large foreign-flagged vessels to ship coal and iron ore from North Korea to China in violation of UN Security Council Resolutions, with shipments likely amounting to tens of millions of dollars in the last six months alone.

Analysis of satellite imagery and AIS data has identified over a dozen shipments made by large cargo vessels from North Korea’s port of Nampo. While these shipments started in 2024, OSC analysis indicates that in 2025, these vessels are engaged in highly sophisticated spoofing practices to mask their illicit activities and avoid detection.

While both Russia and China voted in favour of the coal restrictions in 2016 and 2017, the geopolitical reality has since shifted significantly. The UN Panel of Experts monitoring North Korean sanctions was folded by Russia in 2024 as it simultaneously committed egregious breaches of the North Korean arms embargo by importing millions of munitions for use in its invasion of Ukraine.