Russia Has Started Looking For Oil In North Korea
- 22.05.2026, 18:26
Attempts to find oil in the DPRK were made back in the days of the USSR.
Russia has started offshore oil and gas exploration on the DPRK shelf in the Sea of Japan. As The Moscow Times writes with reference to NK News, specialists from St. Petersburg's VNIIOkeangeologiya set off on an expedition on the Pavel Gordienko research vessel. In May-June 2026, they will conduct a gas-hydro-geochemical survey of the seabed in the economic zone of North Korea. The expedition will last no more than 33 days between May and June. The ship's last transponder signal was detected 33 nautical miles east of the port of Rason. Another Russian vessel, the Ordovik of Sevmorneftegeofizika, is also working off the coast of North Korea. It is a subsidiary of Rosgeo. According to MarineTraffic, it has been off Cheongjin since April 29.
The exploration began shortly after Moscow decided to allocate nearly $13 million from the budget for it. Late last year, First Deputy Finance Minister Irina Okladnikova told the State Duma that President Vladimir Putin had instructed to assess the prospects for oil and gas prospects in the deep-water basin of the Sea of Japan offshore DPRK. Moscow and Pyongyang signed a cooperation agreement on hydrocarbon exploration back in November 2023. The Ministry of Natural Resources said at the time that it would be able to prepare a detailed work plan after receiving the necessary geophysical maps.
Attempts to find oil in North Korea were made back in Soviet times, but then Soviet specialists did not find large deposits on the Korean shelf. Dongso University Russia expert Chris Munday believes that Moscow's involvement in the development of North Korean resources could be a "game changer" for North Korea if Russia is considering major investments. Exploration consultant Michael Rego estimates that North Korea's east coast definitely contains gas and possibly oil. "There are reports of offshore oil shows, but they have not yet been properly confirmed with modern technology," he noted.
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