“North Korea seeks support such as fighter jets in return for weapons support… weakening stability in the region.”
The U.S. White House again refuted the Russian Foreign Minister’s remarks dismissing arms trade with North Korea.
According to the Voice of America (VOA), in relation to Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov’s remarks on the 20th (local time) dismissing the arms trade with North Korea as a ‘rumor’, the White House spokesperson said, “North Korea delivered weapons to Russia for use in Ukraine.” “There is information that he did it,” he said.
Earlier, in an interview with the country’s national broadcaster ‘Rossiya-1’ on the same day, Minister Lavrov responded to the White House’s recent announcement that North Korea had sent 1,000 containers of weapons to Russia by saying, “I will not respond to rumors,” and “The United States is responsible for all matters.” It was dismissed with the statement, “I blame people.”
A White House spokesman said, “Our information suggests that in recent weeks, North Korea has sent more than 1,000 containers worth of military supplies to Russia. Last week, we learned that these containers were being transported on ships from North Korea to Russia.” “We distributed an image showing what it looked like.”
“We condemn North Korea for sending military supplies to Russia that will be used to attack Ukrainian cities and continue Russia’s illegal war,” the spokesperson said. He continued, “We will continue to monitor whether additional North Korean weapons are being shipped to Russia.”
He also said, “We are increasingly concerned about Russia’s support for North Korea,” adding, “We believe that in return for (weapons) support, North Korea provides military support such as fighter jets, surface-to-air missiles, armored vehicles, ballistic missile production equipment or materials, and other advanced technologies.” “I assess that they want to receive it,” he said.
A White House spokesman said, “We are closely watching whether Russia will provide these goods to North Korea,” and added, “We have already seen Russian ships unloading containers in Russia.”
He said, “The expansion of the military partnership between North Korea and Russia, including the transfer of technology from Russia to North Korea, undermines not only regional stability but also the global non-proliferation regime.”
Source: Donga
Mark Jones is a world traveler and journalist for News Rebeat. With a curious mind and a love of adventure, Mark brings a unique perspective to the latest global events and provides in-depth and thought-provoking coverage of the world at large.