DPRK accuses US of “reckless remarks” on fake arms sales allegations
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DPRK defense official accuses the US of "tarnishing" the country's image with fake news about an arms deal that the US has no proof has ever happened.
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DPRK leader Kim Jong Un and Russian President Vladimir Putin (AFP)
The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) asserts it has never delivered weapons to Russia and has no plans to do so, calling US allegations of weaponry supplies for the Ukraine war a "tarnishing" of the country's image.
An anonymous DPRK defense official told the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) on Thursday that the US and other hostile nations were “spreading a ‘rumour of arms’ dealings” between Pyongyang and Moscow.
The official said that “We strongly condemn and sternly warn the US over spreading such anti-DPRK rhetoric,” adding that “We have never exported weapons or ammunition to Russia before and we will not plan to export them.”
The DPRK official also told the US to stop making “reckless remarks” and “keep its mouth shut”, emphasizing that it is the country's “lawful right” to export and import military equipment from any other country if it wished to do so.
The official also stressed that Pyongyang has never recognized the illegitimate UN Security Council sanctions against the country, which the DPRK considers to have been “cooked up by the US and its vassal forces.”
Earlier in September, Russia's UN Ambassador, Vassily Nebenzia, disputed accusations made by US officials, which first appeared in the New York Times, that Russia was trying to acquire weapons from the DPRK.
"I haven't heard it and I think that's another fake being circulated around," he told reporters.
In turn, the White House National Security Spokesperson John Kirby acknowledged that "there are no indications that that purchase has been completed and certainly no indications that those weapons are being used inside of Ukraine."
Kirby called it a "potential purchase" at a briefing: "Our sense is it could include literally millions of rounds, rockets, and artillery shells from North Korea. That's what our information gives us - it could be on that scale."
Russia and DPRK expand relations
Pyongyang's state media stated that Russian President Vladimir Putin promised DPRK leader Kim Jong Un that the two countries will "expand the comprehensive and constructive bilateral relations with joint common efforts."
On the DPRK's liberation day, Putin stated in a letter to Kim that closer ties would be in the interest of both countries, and would further help strengthen the security and stability of the Korean peninsula and the Northeastern Asian region, DPRK's KCNA news agency reported.
In response, Kim's letter to Putin hailed the DPRK-Russian friendship that had been forged in World War II through the victory over Imperial Japan, which had back then occupied the Korean peninsula.
The two countries' "strategic and tactical collaboration, support, and solidarity" have now achieved a new level in defying threats and provocations from hostile military forces, according to Kim's letter.
The DPRK leader predicted cooperation between Russia and DPRK would develop based on an agreement signed in 2019 when he met with Putin.
Read more: US policy unchanged after DPRK declared itself nuclear state: WH
