Kim Yo Jong, the influential sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, has once again denied allegations of arms exchanges with Russia, according to a report by state media KCNA on Friday.
The United States and South Korea have accused North Korea of supplying weapons to Russia for use in the conflict in Ukraine. Both Moscow and Pyongyang have rejected these accusations but pledged last year to deepen their military cooperation. This commitment followed North Korean leader Kim Jong Un’s visit to Russia’s far east in September and a subsequent summit with President Vladimir Putin.
In her statement, Kim Yo Jong dismissed the claims of a North Korea-Russia arms deal as “prejudice and fiction,” labeling it the “most absurd theory” unworthy of serious consideration. She described the allegations as false rumors spread by hostile forces. Kim emphasized that North Korea’s weapons development is intended solely for defense against South Korea, not for export.
North and South Korea are technically still at war, as their 1950-1953 conflict ended with an armistice rather than a peace treaty.
Meanwhile, the United States imposed new sanctions on Thursday on two Russian individuals and three Russian companies accused of facilitating arms transfers between Russia and North Korea, including ballistic missiles for use in Ukraine. According to UN sanctions monitors, debris from a missile found in the Ukrainian city of Kharkiv on January 2 was identified as a North Korean Hwasong-11 series ballistic missile.
Amid the growing partnership between Moscow and Pyongyang, North Korea’s ambassador to Russia referred to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy as a US puppet and expressed confidence in Russia’s eventual victory over Ukraine, as reported by KCNA.
In a joint statement on Thursday, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping criticized the United States and its allies for their “intimidation in the military sphere” against North Korea, highlighting the strengthened ties among North Korea’s major partners.
