Exclusive: From Russia with fuel - North Korean ships may be undermining sanctions

A general view shows a commercial port in Vladivostok, Russia, July 27, 2014. REUTERS/Yuri Maltsev

MOSCOW (Reuters) - At least eight North Korean ships that left Russia with a cargo of fuel this year headed for their homeland despite declaring other destinations, a ploy that U.S. officials say is often used to undermine sanctions.

Reuters has no evidence of wrongdoing by the vessels, whose movements were recorded in Reuters ship-tracking data. Changing a ship's destination once underway is not forbidden and it is unclear whether any of the ships unloaded fuel in North Korea.