The denial follows dozens of weapons tests by North Korea, including short-range missiles that are potentially nuclear-capable and an intercontinental ballistic missile that could target the US mainland. Pyongyang has said it is testing missiles and artillery so it can “mercilessly” hit key South Korean and US targets if it chooses. North Korea has hosted traditional ally Russia in recent years and even hinted it would send workers to help rebuild Russian-held territory in Ukraine. The United States has accused North Korea, one of the world’s most heavily armed countries, of supplying Soviet-era munitions such as artillery shells to replenish depleted Russian stockpiles in Ukraine. Last week, Russia sent North Korean leader Kim Jong Un a trainload of 30 thoroughbred horses, opening the border with its neighbor for the first time in 2 1/2 years. Kim is an avid horseman and state media has often pictured him galloping down snow-covered mountain trails astride a white charger. The horses, Orlov trotters, are prized in Russia. Russian Far Eastern Railway officials told state news agency Nov. 2 that the first train to restart was headed for North Korea with the 30 horses and said the next train was to carry medicine. Experts say North Korea may be seeking Russian fuel and also technology transfers and supplies needed to advance its military capabilities as it pursues more sophisticated weapons systems. In September, North Korea restarted freight train service with China, its biggest trading partner, ending a five-month hiatus. Last week, US National Security Council spokesman John Kirby accused North Korea of secretly supplying a “significant number” of ammunition shipments to Russia. He said the United States believed North Korea was trying to hide the transfer route, making it appear the weapons were being shipped to countries in the Middle East or North Africa. The story continues “We consider such moves by the U.S. as part of its hostile effort to tarnish (North Korea’s) image on the international stage,” an unidentified vice chief of the North Korean ministry’s foreign military affairs office said in a statement carried by state media. . “Once again we make it clear that we have never had an ‘arms transaction’ with Russia and have no plans to do so in the future,” the vice president said. In September, US officials confirmed a recently declassified US intelligence finding that Russia was in the process of buying millions of rockets and artillery shells from North Korea. North Korea later rejected the report, calling on Washington to stop making “careless remarks” and “keep its mouth shut”. On Nov. 2, Kirby said the U.S. has “an idea” of which country or countries the North might funnel the weapons to, but did not elaborate. He said the North Korean missions “are not going to change the course of the war,” citing Western efforts to resupply the Ukrainian military. Slapped by international sanctions and export controls, Russia in August bought Iranian-made drones that US officials said had technical problems. For Russia, experts say North Korea is likely another good choice for its ammunition supply because the North maintains a significant stockpile of shells, many of which are replicas of Soviet-era shells. Even as most of Europe and the West have turned away, North Korea has pushed to strengthen ties with Russia, blaming the US for the crisis and denouncing the West’s “hegemonic policy” as justification for Russia’s military action in Ukraine to to be protected. In July, North Korea became the only country besides Russia and Syria to recognize the territories of Donetsk and Luhansk as independent. North Korea’s potential supply of arms to Russia would be a violation of UN resolutions that prohibit the North from trading arms with other countries. But North Korea is unlikely to face new sanctions for this because of a rift in the UN Security Council over America’s confrontations with Russia over the war in Ukraine and its separate strategic rivalries with China. Earlier this year, Russia and China already vetoed a US-led attempt to strengthen sanctions on North Korea over its series of ballistic missile tests banned by multiple UN Security Council resolutions. Some observers say North Korea is also using Russian aggression in Ukraine as a window to step up its weapons testing activity and put pressure on the United States and South Korea. Last week, the North fired dozens of missiles in response to large-scale US-South Korean air drills that Pyongyang sees as a rehearsal for a possible invasion. In a separate statement published Tuesday by state media, a senior North Korean diplomat criticized UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres’ recent condemnation of North Korea’s missile barrage, calling him a “mouthpiece” for the US government. “The UN secretary-general repeats what the White House and the State Department say as if he were their mouthpiece, which is unfortunate,” said Kim Son-gyong, undersecretary of international organizations at North Korea’s foreign ministry. Kim said Guterres’ “unfair and biased behavior” had contributed to worsening tensions in the region.
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