North Korea denied on Tuesday U.S. claims that it sent artillery shells to Russia for assistance in its war against Ukraine.
National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told reporters last week that North Korea is covertly supplying Russia with a “significant number” of artillery shells. He said North Korea is trying to make it appear that the weapons are being sent to North African or Middle Eastern countries.
A top North Korean military foreign affairs official rejected Kirby’s claims, saying that it is an “attempt to tarnish” North Korea’s image on the international order.
“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,” they said.
U.S. officials confirmed declassified intelligence in September that Russia was buying millions of rockets and artillery shells from North Korea, a report that North Korean leaders dismissed.
Russia has also been increasingly turning to Iran for drones to use in attacks on military and civilian targets in Ukraine. Iran has acknowledged sending drones to Russia but said they were before the war began and were a small number.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has said that Iran is lying about supplying Russia with arms.
United Nations resolutions prohibit North Korea from trading weapons with other countries, but Russia and China would likely block any new sanctions against the country as permanent members of the U.N. Security Council.
North Korea has conducted a series of missile tests in the past few weeks as reports indicate it may be planning its first nuclear test since 2017.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.