OSC Briefs UN Security Council on DPRK Sanctions Violations

Yesterday, our founder James Byrne had the honour of briefing the United Nations Security Council in New York on the Open Source Centre’s latest analysis of North Korea’s sanctions evasion activities—delivered one year after the Russian Federation vetoed the renewal of the UN Panel of Experts' mandate.

The briefing highlighted findings from Back in Black: North Korea’s Resurgent Coal Trade, our latest report identifying six foreign-flagged vessels involved in the illicit shipment of coal and iron ore from the DPRK to China since September 2024 in direct violation of UN Security Council resolutions.

This investigation is the latest in a series of major reports from OSC in the past six months, tracking oil imports, munitions transfers to Russia, and now renewed commodities exports. In the absence of an official monitoring body, we’ve drawn on publicly available sources and novel OSINT techniques such as satellite imagery, ship tracking data and 3D modeling to help uphold transparency and accountability where it’s needed most.

Our work is no substitute for the formal mechanisms of the UN, but we believe independent, evidence-based oversight remains essential for the integrity of the global nonproliferation regime.

Watch the UNSC briefing (06:32 - 11:22) here and read Reuters' coverage at the link below.