WASHINGTON: North Korea has recently provided ballistic missiles and launchers to Russia to be used in war against Ukraine, the White House said on Thursday.
National security spokesperson John Kirby told reporters that United States will raise the matter with the United Nations Security Council.
He termed North Korea’s arms transfer to Russia a significant and concerning escalation adding that Washington would impose more sanctions against those facilitating these arms deals.
The US official said Iran has not given close-range ballistic missiles to Russia but the US believes Russia wants to buy missile systems from Iran.
Moscow launches North Korean-supplied missiles on Ukraine
Citing newly declassified intelligence, Kirby said Moscow launched at least one of the North Korean-supplied missiles on December 30, which fell in an open field in the Zaporizhzhia region of Ukraine.
He added that Russia then launched multiple ballistic missiles into Ukraine as part of a mass aerial assault on Tuesday, one of the largest attacks of the war that is now nearing the two-years.
Despite the US allegations both Moscow and Pyongyang have previously denied the weapons supply deal.
Earlier, the US Ambassador to the U.N. Linda Thomas-Greenfield in a statement said that Washington believes that North Korea sent Russia several dozen ballistic missiles and many of them were launched on Tuesday.
She added that the US believes that Russia will use North Korean missiles to destroy more of Ukraine’s civilian infrastructure and kill Ukrainian civilians.
Thomas-Greenfield said the US is concerned about the security implications this collaboration has on international peace and security.
Meanwhile, the Britain on Thursday also condemned Russia’s decision to use North Korean ballistic missiles in recent attacks against Ukraine.
UK’s Foreign Office spokesperson in a statement called upon North Korea to cease its arms supply to Russia.
