North Korea said there were no "arms deals" with Russia, and called the relevant accusations an attempt to "tarnish the image of the republic." This was reported by the Central Telegraph Agency of Korea (KCNA) with reference to the Ministry of Defense of the country.
In the message, the republic accuses the United States of spreading such rumors:
“We regard such actions by the United States as part of a hostile attempt to defame the image of the DPRK in the international arena, referring to the illegal “sanctions resolution” of the UN Security Council against the DPRK. We reiterate clearly that we have never entered into "arms deals" with Russia and do not plan to do so in the future. The US should not touch North Korea for no reason.”
In early September, The New York Times, citing American intelligence , wrote that Russia was buying "millions of artillery shells and missiles" from North Korea. In November, US National Security Council communications coordinator John Kirby said North Korea had supplied Russia with a "significant amount" of artillery shells. After that, a train from the DPRK arrived in Russia for the first time after a two-year break.