North Korea yesterday said it had not exported any weapons to Russia during the war in Ukraine and has no plans to do so, adding that US intelligence reports of weapons transfers were an attempt to tarnish Pyongyang’s image.
In a state media report, an unnamed North Korean defense official told the US to stop making “reckless remarks” and to “keep its mouth shut.”
US administration officials earlier this month confirmed a declassified US intelligence assessment that Russia was in the process of purchasing arms from North Korea, including millions of artillery shells and rockets, as Moscow attempts to ease severe supply shortages in Ukraine worsened by US-led export controls and sanctions.
The North Korean statement came weeks after Moscow described the US intelligence finding as “fake.”
North Korean arms exports to Russia would contravene UN resolutions banning the country from importing or exporting weapons.
The North Korean official said that Pyongyang has never recognized the “unlawful” UN Security Council sanctions against the country “cooked up by the US and its vassal forces.”
The official added that the export and import of military equipment is a “lawful right peculiar to a sovereign state,” according to an English translation of the statement published by the North’s official Korean Central News Agency.
“But we take this opportunity to make clear one thing. We have never exported weapons or ammunition to Russia before and we will not plan to export them,” said the official, who was described as a vice director-general of the National Defense Ministry’s general equipment bureau.
“It is not sure from where the rumor originated which the US is spreading, but it is aimed at tarnishing the DPRK’s image,” the official said, referring to the country’s formal name, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.
Facing sanctions and export controls, Russia last month bought Iranian-made drones that US officials said had technical problems. Experts say North Korea, if willing, could become a major source of small arms, artillery and other ammunition for Russia, considering the compatibility of their defense systems based on Soviet roots.
North Korea has sought to tighten relations with Russia even as most of Europe and the West has pulled away, blaming the US for the crisis and decrying the West’s “hegemonic policy” as justifying military action by Russia in Ukraine to protect itself.
The North Korean government has even hinted it is interested in sending construction workers to help rebuild pro-Russia breakaway regions in Ukraine’s east. In July, North Korea became the only nation aside from Russia and Syria to recognize the independence of the territories, Donetsk and Luhansk.
North Korea yesterday made a rare mention of dissenting votes in recent elections, although analysts dismissed it as an attempt to portray an image of a normal society rather than signaling any meaningful increase of rights in the authoritarian state. The reclusive country has one of the most highly controlled societies in the world, with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un accused of using a system of patronage and repression to retain absolute power. Reporting on the results of Sunday’s election for deputies to regional people’s assemblies, the North’s state media said that 0.09 percent and 0.13 percent voted against the selected candidates
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