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The Foreign Ministry of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) denied reports of alleged arms shipments to Russia, according to the Yonhap news agency.

Yonhap quoted a ministry spokesperson as stating that "the Japanese media's false report that the DPRK offered munitions to Russia is the most absurd red herring, which is not worth any comment or interpretation." 

This comes shortly after the coordinator for strategic communications at the US National Security Council John Kirby claimed, on Thursday, that North Korea had already provided weaponry to Russia's Wagner private military business and was preparing to do so again. 

Stephane Dujarric, the spokesperson for the UN Secretary-General, stated at a conference later that day that the international body was unaware of any purported arms transfers from DPRK.

Russia has emphasized multiple times that its armed forces do not need to purchase weapons from other countries since the domestic defense industry is capable of handling their needs.

Meanwhile, the US is reportedly spending roughly $130 million to arm Ukraine daily, in addition to funds spent on economic and other assistance, prompting current and former US officials to warn that Washington needs to take more action to ensure that the equipment and funds sent to Kiev actually make it to the country, as per a recent report for the Wall Street Journal.

This is happening as international warnings grow over the West's weapons destined for Ukraine that could end up on the black market and in the hands of criminals.

Read more: Weapons supplied to Ukraine flooding Africa's black markets: DPR Head

Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari has lately urged heads of state from neighboring states participating in the Lake Chad Basin Commission to confront the issue of Western arms smuggling from Ukraine, stressing that weapons supplied to Ukraine from Western countries are "starting to flow" into the Lake Chad basin region.

Similarly, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov had pointed out that Stingers and Javelin missiles, supplied by the West to Kiev, were already being sold at a discount on the black market and have surfaced in Albania and Kosovo, which Russia has warned for so long.

Ukraine has received billions and billions of dollars in supplied arms from the United States and its allies such as the United Kingdom and other NATO states in the past few months.