(Seoul) The powerful sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un on Friday denied any arms deliveries to Moscow from Pyongyang, calling the accusations “absurd”, according to state media.
South Korea and the United States have repeatedly accused North Korea of supplying weapons to Russia while the latter two countries are subject to international sanctions: Russia for its invasion of Ukraine and Korea of the North for its nuclear program.
Experts have also warned that the North’s intensified testing and production of artillery and cruise missiles could prepare for deliveries to Russia.
Kim Yo Jong said Pyongyang had “no intention of exporting its military technical capabilities to any country,” according to a statement released Friday by the official KCNA news agency.
She also accused Seoul and Washington of “deceiving public opinion with a false rumor that weapons produced by… (us) are ‘destined for export to Russia’.”
“What is most urgent for us is not to advertise or export something, but to improve the war preparations and the deterrence (capacity) of our army in terms of quality and quantity,” she said.
PHOTO VLADIMIR SMIRNOV, ARCHIVES ASSOCIATED PRESS
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and Russian President Vladimir Putin in September 2023
In April, Pyongyang thanked Moscow for using its Security Council veto to block the establishment of a new committee of experts to monitor the implementation of international sanctions targeting North Korea.
South Korea said in March that the North had sent some 7,000 containers of weapons to Russia for use in Ukraine, possibly in exchange for technical assistance in its satellite program. -spies.
On Tuesday, Kim Jong-un inspected a new tactical missile weapons system and called for an “epochal change” in war preparations.
“Tactical weapons, including the multiple rocket launchers and missiles that we demonstrated recently, are produced to fulfill a single mission,” Kim Yo Jong said in his statement on Friday.
“We make no secret of the fact that these weapons will be used to prevent Seoul from inventing crazy ideas.”
Inter-Korean relations are at their lowest point in years, with Pyongyang declaring South Korea its “main enemy.”