Monitoring Desk
PYONGYANG: North Korea on Sunday denied providing arms to Moscow after the United States said the nuclear-armed state supplied rockets and missiles to Russia’s private military group Wagner.
Earlier this month, Washington designated the Wagner group as a “transnational criminal organization,” citing its weapons dealings with Pyongyang in violation of UN Security Council resolutions.
According to national security spokesman John Kirby, the White House showed US intelligence photographs of Russia’s rail cars entering North Korea, picking up a load of infantry missiles and rockets, and returning to Russia.
In a statement by the official Korean Central News Agency, a senior North Korean official rejected the accusations, warning that the US would face a “really undesirable result” if it continued spreading the “self-made rumour”.
North Korea dealing with China and Russia
“Trying to destroy the image of North Korea by fabricating a non-existent thing is a grave provocation that will never be allowed, and that cannot but trigger its reaction,” director general of the Department of US Affairs, Kwon Jong Gun, said.
He also declared it a foolish attempt to justify its supply of weapons to Ukraine.
Earlier this week, US President Joe Biden announced 31 Abrams tanks, one of the US army’s most powerful and sophisticated weapons, to help Ukraine fight a Russian invasion.
The move drew a reaction Friday from Kim Yo Jong, the powerful sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, who accused the US of “further crossing the red line” by supplying the tanks to Ukraine.
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, during a meeting with South Korean foreign minister Park Jin in Seoul on Sunday, acknowledged concerns about North Korea’s “nuclear programs and reckless missile tests” and the effects of the Ukraine war in South Korea.
“We also know North Korea is providing military support to the Russian war efforts with rockets and missiles,” he added.
