(Bloomberg) — North Korea denied US allegations it was selling arms to Russia for use in Ukraine, amid worries Pyongyang could be moving closer to Moscow as it faces criticism from Washington over its weapons tests.
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“We once again make clear that we have never had ‘arms dealings’ with Russia and that we have no plan to do so in the future,” a North Korea Defense Ministry official said, according to a report from the state-run Korean Central News Agency on Tuesday.
The Biden administration last week accused North Korea of covertly supplying Russia with artillery shells for use in the Ukraine invasion despite previous denials that it planned to do so. It made similar accusations in September, which North Korea denied. The US hasn’t released any evidence that such sales have taken place.
Any weapons sales would represent a role reversal between Pyongyang and Moscow, after North Korea relied on the Soviet Union for support during the Cold War. An arms sale could potentially give Kim’s regime much-needed cash and oil and perhaps even technology to help with its nuclear weapons program.
If such sales did take place, the arms could be carried on the sole rail link between the two countries. The first train in more than two years crossed from North Korea into Russian on Friday — shortly after the US made its latest charge of an arms sale — satellite imagery released by the 38 North website showed.
The link had been closed in February 2020 as Kim Jong Un sealed his borders against the emerging Covid-19 threat. Any arms shipment would be a violation of United Nations sanctions levied against North Korea with Russian support.
Kim has stood by Russia since Vladimir Putin’s invasion of his neighbor and is one of the few countries that have recognized the Kremlin-controlled “People’s Republics” in Donetsk and Luhansk in eastern Ukraine.
Russia has used its veto power on the UN Security Council to thwart new attempts to increase sanctions on North Korea, which in 2022 has fired off its largest barrage of ballistic missiles in a year under Kim. The US, South Korea and Japan have said Kim may soon test a nuclear device, and North Korea may be counting on Russia to block any new measures.
–With assistance from Jessica Park.
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