This revelation came after the UN panel monitoring North Korea sanctions was disbanded due to a Russian veto.

The White House stated that Russia has been transporting the refined petroleum from Port Vostochny to North Korea, surpassing the UN-imposed cap of 500,000 barrels per year for refined products.

The Russian and North Korean UN missions have not responded to the US accusation.

New sanctions from the US are expected in response.

In March 2023, Russia shipped over 165,000 barrels of refined petroleum to North Korea, which could be sustained due to the close proximity of their commercial ports.

Russia obstructed the renewal of UN sanctions monitors in late March, allowing potential concealment of their violation of UN Security Council resolutions.

The US will continue imposing sanctions on individuals facilitating arms and petroleum transfers between Russia and North Korea, known as the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.

The US has coordinated autonomous sanctions with partners like Australia, the European Union, Japan, New Zealand, the Republic of Korea, and the United Kingdom.

The United States and its allies are planning to announce new sanctions against North Korea this month in response to its illicit oil procurement and alleged weapons transfers to Russia.

The US and South Korea established a task force in March to prevent North Korea from obtaining oil.

There are accusations that North Korea has transferred weapons to Russia for use against Ukraine, which Russia invaded in February 2022.

Both North Korea and Russia deny these allegations, but have pledged to deepen military relations.

A report by UN sanctions monitors revealed that debris from a missile that landed in Ukrainian city Kharkiv in January was from a North Korean Hwasong-11 series ballistic missile.