Russia-NK ties stay strong; Smuggling on the upper Yalu; Bell 212 helicopter crash highlights spare parts issue for Tehran; Iranians in Dubai
Prohibited Transactions for the week of 20 May 2024 (#49)
North Korea
Russian media is reporting that planning is ongoing for the upcoming visit of Russian President Vladimir Putin to the DPRK, though no details appear to be set. Putin has also been briefed on the tourism cooperation between the two countries.
In continuation of exchanges between the two countries, a Russian delegation is visiting Pyongyang this week to discuss issues about parliamentary interactions between the two countries, while a science and technology delegation from the DPRK returned home after a weeklong visit to Russia.
According to a US Defense Department official, Russia is likely providing North Korea with technological assistance in order to expand the threat they pose to the US (at approximately the 01:05:30 mark of the video).
According to covert reporting from inside North Korea, North Korean workers in Russia are facing stricter government controls, to prevent defections and leaking of information to the outside world.
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According to covert reporting from inside North Korea, North Korean authorities are spearheading smuggling operations on the upper portions of the Yalu River, which serves as the border with the PRC. North Korea is receiving cars, mechanical parts and small electric motors, and the PRC is receiving seafood and copper concentrates.
North Korean golfers have been shown by state-run media to be wearing Nike branded shoes and clothing, which would be a violation of UN sanctions.
Canada, Japan, New Zealand and South Korea have all designated a number of North Korean entities and individuals for their involvement in the arms trade between the DPRK and Russia.
According to covert reporting from inside North Korea, the North Korean government is expanding its capacity to store oil, as it has recently received large amounts of imported oil from Russia, and to a lesser degree, the PRC. The military is receiving 95 percent of the oil, and civilian markets get the rest.
Iran
The Bell 212 helicopter which crashed on Sunday — killing Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian and six others — appears to have been manufactured in 1994 before being delivered to Iran. An aerospace analyst noted that even though sanctions would have prevented Iran from buying legitimate spare parts for the Bell 212, nothing prevents Tehran from purchasing and using newer Russian helicopters. //This issue of spare parts and maintenance for Iranian’s civilian air fleet is a longstanding one (see Issue #39), but what role this may have played in the crash will not be resolved unless Tehran takes the unlikely step of being forthcoming about the helicopter and its maintenance history.
Both Russian and PRC officials reaffirmed their commitment to cooperation with Iran following the deaths of Raisi and Amirabdollahian.
Over 7,000 Iranians based in Dubai could own approximately USD7 billion in property in the city, including a number of individuals who have been convicted of crimes, are fugitives, or connected to the Iranian establishment. //More details about the Iranians in Dubai was published by Netherlands-based Radio Zamaneh, which is part of a larger investigative project, Dubai Unlocked.
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An official from Iran’s Ministry of Agriculture is encouraging overseas Iranians to invest in extraterritorial cultivation, and the government is looking to Iraq, Pakistan, Kazakhstan, Armenia, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Russia, as well as Africa and Latin America as potential target countries.
Tehran and Beijing signed a memorandum of understanding to strengthen cooperation in the agricultural and horticultural fields.
Iran’s agricultural sector is joining the metaverse in a bid to improve productivity. //Even Tehran cannot avoid the hype about the metaverse. Have they located a non-US platform to promote their goods on?
India’s ambassador to Armenia says that Yerevan is coming up with a proposal to use the Chabahar port. //It has been previously reported that Armenia would be interested in Chabahar as a means to access Indian and Asian markets via the International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC).
An Afghan minister said his country is seeking to enhance bilateral trade with Iran to over USD10 billion, though an official from the Iranian chamber of commerce separately noted that Afghanistan needs to provide a platform for Iranian investments into the country.
The Central Bank of Iran (CBI) provided USD921 million of subsidized foreign currency to the nation’s industrial sector over the previous Iranian calendar year. The CBI had also provided USD4.3 billion of foreign currency to medicine and medical equipment importers during the same time frame.