North denies sending arms to Russia, slams U.S. for 'groundless rumors'

North Korea slammed U.S. allegations that it had conducted arms transactions with Russia Sunday, warning of an "undesirable result" if Washington continues to spread such "groundless rumors."

Protesters in South Korea march during a rally against Russia's invasion of Ukraine near the Russian Embassy in central Seoul Sunday. [AP/YONHAP]

North Korea slammed U.S. allegations that it had conducted arms transactions with Russia Sunday, warning of an "undesirable result" if Washington continues to spread such "groundless rumors."

This comes just two days after Kim Yo-jong, the powerful younger sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, "strongly denounced" the United States for deciding to provide Ukraine with battle tanks, warning that Washington is crossing the "red line" by escalating military tensions with Moscow.

Kwon Jong-gun, director-general in charge of U.S. affairs at North Korea's Foreign Ministry, said in a statement carried by its official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) on Sunday that the United States is committing an "unethical crime" through providing Ukraine with such military hardware.

Last Wednesday, U.S. President Joe Biden announced that the United States will provide 31 M1 Abrams tanks to Ukraine, joining German Chancellor Olaf Scholz who said he will send 14 Leopard 2 tanks to support its fight against Russia's invasion.

This marked a reversal of the Biden administration's position that such M1 Abrams tanks would be challenging for Ukrainian troops to operate and maintain despite Ukraine's continued pleas for its Western partners to send heavy battle tanks.

Kwon accused the United States of bringing up allegations of "arms dealing between the DPRK and Russia" in "a foolish attempt to justify its offer of weapons to Ukraine," referring to the acronym for the North's official name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea. He described such efforts as "a grave provocation" that is bound to "trigger" a reaction from the North.

Kwon then warned that the United States "will face a really undesirable result if it persists in spreading the self-made rumor against the DPRK," without elaborating further.

The statement came after the White House accused North Korea multiple times of providing arms and ammunition to Russia to support its invasion of Ukraine, in violation of UN Security Council resolutions.

On Jan. 20, John Kirby, strategic communications coordinator for the White House National Security Council (NSC), said the United States has shared its intelligence on the delivery of North Korean ammunition to Russia with the UN Security Council's panel of experts on Pyongyang sanctions.

Kirby said North Korea delivered arms ammunition to Wagner Group, a private Russian military company, for use in Ukraine and assessed that the company will "continue to receive North Korean weapons systems."

He noted that North Korea "delivered infantry rockets and missiles into Russia for use by Wagner toward the end of last year" and released satellite imagery supporting its claims from mid-November.

Both Pyongyang and Wagner have denied the accusations.

Kim Yo-jong, sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, speaks at a mass political gathering in Pyongyang in August 2022 that was broadcast by the state-controlled Korean Central Television [YONHAP]

"I express serious concern over the U.S. escalating the war situation by providing Ukraine with military hardware for ground offensive," said Kim Yo-jong, vice department director of the North's ruling Workers' Party's Central Committee, in a statement released by the KCNA Friday.

Kim said that the United States, "which has exposed the whole continent of Europe to the grave danger of war" is "now further crossing the red line."

She accused the United States of a "sinister intention to realize its hegemonic aim by further expanding the proxy war for destroying Russia" and claimed Western countries are "wrecking the global peace and the regional security" by "handing military hardware running into astronomical sum of money over to Ukraine."

Kim said that such military hardware provided by the United States and other Western powers "will be burnt into pieces in the face of the indomitable fighting spirit and might of the heroic Russian army and people," echoing similar language coming out of the Kremlin.

It is rare for Kim, who has spoken strongly regarding U.S. affairs and South Korea, to comment directly on the Ukrainian crisis.

She claimed that the Ukrainian situation was a result of the United States having "infringed" upon Russia's security interests and accelerated "the eastward advance of NATO step by step."

Analysts point out that North Korea may be reacting strongly to the Ukrainian war because it could be seen as a simulation of the situation on the Korean Peninsula.

Pyongyang's back-to-back statements came ahead of North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg's two-day trip to Seoul starting Sunday, a visit expected to focus on strengthening the partnership between South Korea, along with other Indo-Pacific countries, and NATO.

Stoltenberg was expected to address the North Korea threat in his talks with Seoul officials and President Yoon Suk Yeol.

BY SARAH KIM [kim.sarah@joongang.co.kr]