United Nations reports showed that Japan exported some strategic items and luxury goods to North Korea over the past several years in violation of international sanctions.

The Seoul-based Yonhap News analyzed ten reports that the UN panel of experts of the sanctions committee on North Korea wrote between 2010 and 2019.

The UN reports showed there have been multiple cases where restricted items, including luxury goods and sensitive equipment that can be used for military purposes, have been shipped to North Korea from Japan despite UN sanctions.

According to a 2016 report, commercial radar antennas made by a Japanese firm were acquired by North Korea for its naval vessels, and some of them were seen during the North's test-firing of an anti-ship missile publicized in February 2015 by the North's Rodong Sinmun.

The UN reports indicate Japan has been lax about its export controls on North Korea, although it imposed trade restrictions against South Korea, accusing Seoul of smuggling sensitive materials out to North Korea in violation of international sanctions.