‘RUMOUR’: NORTH KOREA DENIES US CLAIMS OF ARMS SHIPMENTS TO RUSSIA

Tue 08 November 2022:

According to KCNA, North Korea stated on Wednesday that it has never engaged in any arms trade with Russia and does not currently have any plans to do so.

“Rumors of arms dealing with Russia is a hostile attempt by the US to tarnish the image of N.Korea,” it continued.

John Kirby, the spokesperson for national security at the White House, stated last week that the US had information suggesting North Korea is covertly supplying Russia with a “significant” quantity of artillery shells.

According to Kirby, North Korea was trying to hide the shipments by routing them through countries in the Middle East and North Africa, and Washington was keeping an eye on things to see if the supplies were actually received.

A North Korean defence ministry official called the allegations a rumour and said Pyongyang has “never had ‘arms dealings’ with Russia” and has “no plan to do so in the future.”

“We regard such moves of the U.S. as part of its hostile attempt to tarnish the image of the DPRK in the international arena by invoking the illegal ‘sanctions resolution’ of the (U.N. Security Council) against the DPRK,” the official said in a statement carried by the KCNA, referring to the North by the initials of its official name.

Any arms assistance would be a further indication of growing ties between Moscow and Pyongyang as Russia’s isolation due to its involvement in the Ukraine War has widened.

North Korea has expressed support for Russia’s declared annexation of portions of Ukraine and was one of the few nations to recognize the independence of the breakaway Ukrainian areas.

SOURCE: INDEPENDENT PRESS AND NEWS AGENCIES

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