EKO HOT BLOG reports that North Korea has denied that it has ever, or will ever, supply Russia with weapons to use in its invasion of Ukraine.
The comments come following a US official’s claims that Putin was in the process of purchasing millions of rockets and artillery shells from Kim Jong-un’s North Korea.
Russia has been hit by Western sanctions which have crippled its ability to manufacture certain types of military equipment. The US has accused Moscow of turning to Iran and North Korea to bolster dwindling supplies.
However, North Korean state news outlet and mouthpiece for Kim Jong-un, Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), strongly denied the claims and blamed the US for “tarnishing its image”.
Quoting an unnamed North Korean official, it said: “Recently, the U.S. and other hostile forces talked about the ‘violation of a resolution’ of the UNSC, spreading a ‘rumour of arms dealings’ between the DPRK and Russia.”
KCNA added: “We have never exported weapons or ammunition to Russia before and we will not plan to export them.”
North Korea is a nuclear armed state and there are serious concerns about the country achieving the technology to hit the US mainland or Europe with a nuclear warhead.
The country is already possesses the ability to strike Western allies in the region including South Korea and Japan.
The news of North Korea’s apparent rejection of Putin comes at a crucial point in the Russian President’s Ukraine war.
Moscow’s forces are being routed in some areas in the face of a sweeping Ukrainian counteroffensive which, in part, has prompted Putin to call for a partial mobilisation in Russia. This would see Russia attempt to mobilise 300,000 more soldiers for the war.
However, the move has proved to be unpopular on the Russia home front. Already, 1,300 protesters against the war have reportedly been arrested in Moscow and St Petersburg since the announcement.
There have also been reports of one way flights out of Russia selling out while a Finnish border guard claimed to notice an uptick in traffic arriving from Russia overnight.
While Putin appears to be generally isolated on the world stage, declining popularity within Russia could spell disaster for the Russian President.
Ukraine continues to receive the backing of the West with UK Prime Minister Liz Truss and US President Joe Biden both renewing their support for the defensive war effort yesterday.
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