March 9, 2026, by Joseph S. Bermudez Jr., Victor Cha and Jennifer Jun—
Satellite imagery shows rapid expansion of Russian UAV and UCAV production infrastructure at the Yelabuga Special Economic Zone, with reports suggesting potential North Korean labor involvement... Download Report PDF The Yelabuga drone factory has been identified in open-source reports as a…
October 27, 2025, by Joseph S. Bermudez Jr., Victor Cha and Jennifer Jun—
Satellite imagery show that the construction of the new Russia-North Korea road bridge has made significant progress in the past six months.
October 13, 2025, by Victor Cha, Bonny Lin, Andy Lim and Truly Tinsley—
CSIS experts address critical questions regarding Chinese Premier Li Qiang's recent visit to North Korea and the significance for bilateral ties.
May 19, 2025, by Victor Cha and Andy Lim—
CSIS Beyond Parallel created a timeline documenting major developments in the growing North Korea-Russia relationship since 2022... The war in Ukraine has precipitated a renewed relationship between Russia and North Korea. Driven by Russia’s need for ammunition for the war, and North...
April 16, 2025, by Joseph S. Bermudez Jr., Victor Cha and Jennifer Jun—
The new road bridge at the Tumangang-Khasan border constitutes more evidence of the burgeoning strategic partnership between Russia and North Korea. However, Recent satellite imagery shows the construction of the road bridge has stalled... Overview of the road bridge construction site at the Tumangang-Khasan border, March 28. 2025. Copyright…
December 18, 2024, by Joseph S. Bermudez Jr., Victor Cha and Jennifer Jun—
The ongoing high levels of rail traffic and major modernization of rail facilities at Tumangang indicates that the strategic relationship between North Korea and Russia continues to grow... Close-up of the new canopy being constructed over the modernized rail station at Tumangang Rail…
October 28, 2024, by Victor Cha—
This first appeared as a…
August 8, 2024, by Joseph S. Bermudez Jr., Victor Cha and Jennifer Jun—
Beyond Parallel reviewed satellite imagery of the Russia-North Korea border at the Tumangang-Khasan railroad crossing from early February to mid-July 2024, a few months before and a few weeks after Russian President Vladimir Putin’s visit to North Korea on June 18. The analysis between February and July 2024 shows a new railcar traffic pattern at the Russia-North Korea border.
April 15, 2024, by Joseph S. Bermudez Jr., Victor Cha and Jennifer Jun—
Recent satellite imagery reveals ongoing high-level utilization of Russia's Tikhoretsk Munitions Storage Facility, where munitions from North Korea are being stored... An overview of Tikhoretsk Munitions Storage Facility, April 7, 2024. (Copyright © 2024 by Planet)…
February 28, 2024, by Joseph S. Bermudez Jr., Victor Cha and Jennifer Jun—
Ammunition supplies have become critical in the Ukraine war. CSIS studied hundreds of commercially available satellite images since August 2023 on the continuing transfer of large quantities of munitions between North Korea and Russia... Ammunition supplies have become critical in the Ukraine war. CSIS studied hundreds of commercially available…
