US accuses North Korea of arms support for Russia

Washington accused Pyongyang of supplying weapons to Russia based on several photographs.According to the AAA news agency, the United States confirmed the supply of weapons, including missiles and rocket launchers, from North Korea to the Wagner Group, which is involved in Russia's war against Ukraine.
North Korea, meanwhile, denied the allegations.

The US is concerned that North Korea may be planning to ship more weapons to Russia after North Korean leader Kim Jong-un vowed to strengthen ties with Moscow.On June 12, Kim Jong-un, in a telegram to Russian President Vladimir Putin on the occasion of Russia Day, "confirmed his readiness to further strengthen strategic cooperation between the DPRK and the Russian Federation."

A US State Department spokesman said that despite Pyongyang's denial of the sale of weapons to Russia for the war in Ukraine, Washington confirmed that the DPRK had completed the supply of weapons to the Wagner PMC in November 2022."We are concerned that the DPRK plans to supply Russia with even more military equipment," a State Department spokesman said.

In March, the US said it had new information about Russia's attempts to acquire weapons from North Korea in exchange for food aid.In turn, Russia has resumed oil supplies to sanctioned North Korea for the first time since 2020, deepening cooperation between the two countries that the US says also includes sending weapons from Pyongyang to help the Kremlin fight the war in Ukraine.

A report released this week by the UN sanctions committee says Russia began shipping oil products to North Korea in December 2022, a move that continued into 2023. The data showed that shipments were halted around October 2020, but Russia has shipped about 67,000 barrels of oil since the flow resumed.