Russia sent over 100,000 barrels of refined petroleum to North Korea last year amid growing ties between Moscow and Pyongyang, according to new U.N. data.

North Korea received a total of 105,845 barrels of refined petroleum from Russia in 2023, data released by the U.N.’s 1718 Sanctions Committee overseeing the DPRK sanctions regime showed.

Russia resumed oil exports to North Korea with a shipment of 3,225 barrels in Dec. 2022 after a two-year pause, before sending 64,074 barrels between January and April and another 41,771 barrels between May and December last year, according to the U.N. committee.

Despite the uptick