The White House on Thursday strong a strong warning to North Korea against selling munitions to Russia to use in the ongoing war in Ukraine as tensions between Pyongyang and Washington continue to heighten.
Mr. John Kirby who is national security spokesperson in the White House noted on Thursday morning that the United States is concerned about potential arms deals between Russia and North Korea.
‘We urge the DPRK to cease its arms negotiations with Russia and abide by the public commitments that Pyongyang has made to not provide or sell arms to Russia,’ Kirby said, referring to North Korea by its official name, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.
Kirby added that the US believes Russia’s Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu tried to convince Pyongyang to sell artillery ammunitions to Moscow when he visited North Korea and met with its leader Kim Jong Un in July.
The White House spokesman declined to detail how US officials had gathered the intelligence.
Africa Today News, New York reports that in recent times, the US has been warning its competitors and adversaries – including China – against helping Russia in its military offensive in Ukraine.
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Kirby’s comments on Wednesday came just weeks after Russian President Vladimir Putin and Kim exchanged letters vowing to bolster ties between their two countries.
“I am sure that we will strengthen the bilateral cooperation in all fields for the two peoples’ wellbeing and the firm stability and security of the Korean peninsula and the whole of Northeast Asia,” Putin said in a statement at that time.
Last year, the US accused North Korea of covertly shipping artillery shells to Russia.
“We remain concerned that … the DPRK continues to consider providing military support to Russia’s military forces in Ukraine,” Kirby said, citing “new information” that such talks were advancing. “High-level discussions may continue in coming months,” he said.
The North Korean and Russian missions to the United Nations in New York did not immediately respond to requests for comment from the Reuters news agency.
Both North Korea and Russia have previously denied the US’s allegations about weapons.
North Korea, however, has sided with Russia over the war in Ukraine, insisting that the “hegemonic policy” of the US-led West has forced Moscow to take military action to protect its security interests.
North Korea is under heavy United Nations sanctions over its nuclear and ballistic missile programmes, while Russia also faces a slew of US and Western sanctions over its invasion of Ukraine last year.