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Ukraine war: North Korea denies US claims that it is exporting weapons to Russia
- In a state media report on Thursday, an unnamed North Korean defense official told the US to stop making ‘reckless remarks’ and to ‘keep its mouth shut’
- Statement comes after the US said that Russia was buying artillery shells and rockets from Pyongyang to support its war in Ukraine
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North Korea says it has not exported any weapons to Russia during the war in Ukraine and has no plans to do so, and said US intelligence reports of weapons transfers were an attempt to tarnish North Korea’s image.
In comments to state media on Thursday, an unidentified North Korean defence official told the US to stop making “reckless remarks” and to “keep its mouth shut.”
The statement comes after the White House said earlier in September that Russia was buying artillery shells and rockets from communist North Korea to support its war in Ukraine.
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National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said the United States believed purchases “could include literally millions of rounds, rockets and artillery shells.”
North Korean arms exports to Russia would violate United Nations resolutions banning the country from importing or exporting weapons.
The North Korean official stressed that Pyongyang has never recognised the “unlawful” UN Security Council sanctions against the country “cooked up by the US and its vassal forces.” The official said the export and import of military equipment is a “lawful right peculiar to a sovereign state,” according to an English translation of the statement provided by North Korea.
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