North Korea reportedly spent tens of thousand dollars last year to buy a dozen horses from Russia.

Quoting Russian customs data, Reuters said on Monday that North Korea spent about 75-thousand dollars to import 12 horses from Russia in October last year.  

The report said it was the biggest buy since 2015, when North Korea spent 192-thousand-200 dollars on 61 horses from Russia. North Korea has reportedly imported at least 138 horses between 2010 and 2019, at a total cost of 584-thousand-302 dollars. 

The purchases were made as the regime is under strict international sanctions imposed over its nuclear weapons and ballistic missile programs. 

In October and December last year, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un was seen riding a white horse on the snowy slopes of the sacred Baekdu Mountain.