North Korea on Sunday denied supplying weapons to Moscow after the United States said the Asian country is sending rockets and missiles to members of the Russian paramilitary group Wagner.
Washington earlier this month labeled the Wagner group a “transnational criminal organization,” citing its arms deals with Pyongyang, which violate UN Security Council resolutions.
The White House has released US intelligence photos of convoys arriving in North Korea, picking up a load of infantry rockets and missiles and returning to Russia, according to national security spokesman John Kirby.
In a statement released by the Korean state news agency, a senior North Korean official refuted the allegations and warned the United States that it would face a “deeply undesirable outcome” if it continued to spread what he called “fabricated rumours”.
“Trying to tarnish North Korea’s image by manufacturing something that doesn’t exist is a serious provocation that can never be allowed and can only provoke a reaction,” said Kwon Jong Gun, director general of the North Korea. United States Department of Affairs.
Besides China, Russia is one of North Korea’s few international allies.
Besides Syria and Russia, North Korea is the only country to recognize the independence of the Russian-backed breakaway regions of Lugansk and Donetsk in eastern Ukraine.
Russia, one of the five permanent members of the UN Security Council, opposes the intensification of international sanctions against North Korea and even defends the reduction of measures for humanitarian reasons.
In a meeting this Sunday in Seoul with South Korean Foreign Minister Park Jin, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg expressed concern over Pyongyang’s stance, both on “dangerous” nuclear tests and its support for Russia’s efforts in Ukraine.
In September, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un declared his country an “irreversible” nuclear state. The Pyongyang regime conducted weapons tests almost every month last year in violation of UN Security Council resolutions, including the launch of its most advanced intercontinental ballistic missile.
Source: DN
