Russia says it will develop relations with North Korea “in all areas” as both countries are under harsh sanctions by the United States, which accuses Moscow of receiving arms from Pyongyang amid the war in Ukraine.
At a press conference on Thursday, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said “North Korea is our neighbor and we continue and will continue to develop close relations in all areas.”
His comments came just a day after the US, and its allies South Korea and Japan, denounced what they alleged were weapons supplies from Pyongyang to Moscow, which launched an ongoing war on Ukraine in February last year.
In a joint statement, the foreign ministries of the US, South Korea and Japan alleged that there was purported evidence of deliveries of ammunition and military equipment from North Korea to Russia.
When asked about the weapons transfer allegation, Peskov said, “There are many such reports. They are all groundless as a rule. There are no specifics. Such reports have been around for a long time. We see no point in commenting on this.”
“We don’t comment on this in any way,” he added, when pressed on whether weapons deliveries had taken place.
Back in September, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un visited Russia and met with Russian President Vladimir Putin at a summit at the Vostochny Cosmodrome space center in Russia’s far-eastern Amur region.
Washington at the time claimed that it had intelligence data that the talks between Putin and Kim on a weapons deal were “actively advancing,” while the Kremlin said Kim’s visit would cover “bilateral relations, the situation in the region and in the global arena.”
Both Russia and North Korea are already under harsh sanctions by the US, the former for its war on Ukraine and the latter for its years-long ballistic missile and nuclear programs.
In July, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu visited North Korea at the formal invitation of the North Korean government to attend the peninsular country’s celebrations of the 70th anniversary of the Korean War armistice, which ended open hostilities and is celebrated as Victory Day.
During the visit, Kim showed off his country’s ICBMs and previously unseen drones to Shoigu as a showcase of North Korea’s military might.
North Korea has backed Russia over the war in Ukraine, insisting that the “hegemonic policy” of the US-led NATO military alliance of Western governments forced Moscow to take military action to protect its national security interests.
The United States, in turn, has accused Pyongyang of providing arms to Russia to help combat the West-supplied Ukrainian forces. North Korea and Russia have, however, dismissed US claims as part of its usual publicity campaign against unfriendly countries.
