accused by Washington, North Korea denies supplying arms to Moscow

North Korea denies supplying arms to Russia

North Korea on Sunday issued a denial of Washington’s claims that the Pyongyang regime was supplying weapons to Moscow

Last week, White House Security Council spokesman John Kirby released US intelligence footage showing alleged Russian train cars returning from North Korea loaded with military equipment, including rockets for the paramilitary group Wagner engaged in Ukraine. In the process, the United States designated Wagner as a “criminal organization” and declared to transmit these recordings to the United Nations as part of the sanctions against Pyongyang.

Quoted by the official KCNA news agency, the director general of the North Korean American affairs department, Kwon Jong-gun, rejected this “rumor created from scratch” and warned the United States that they would expose themselves to a “truly undesirable result” if they continued to spread it.

“Trying to tarnish the image of [la Corée du Nord] by fabricating something that does not exist is a serious provocation that can never be allowed and can only trigger a reaction,” he added. He denounced “a stupid attempt to justify” future arms shipments to Ukraine by the United States, which on Thursday promised 31 Abrams tanks to kyiv.

On Friday, Kim Yo-jong, the influential sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, also criticized promises to send arms to Ukraine by the United States, accusing them of “going even further the Red line “.

Russia is, along with China, one of Pyongyang’s few international allies and has already helped the North Korean regime directly. Apart from Syria and Russia, North Korea is the only country to have recognized the independence of Luhansk and Donetsk, two pro-Russian separatist regions in eastern Ukraine.

Russia, which is one of the five permanent members of the UN Security Council, has long argued against tougher international sanctions against North Korea and even called for them to be eased on humanitarian grounds.

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