N Korea denies sending weapons to Russia, tells US to ‘shut up’

Russian President Vladimir Putin, right, and North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un exchanged letters of support in August [File: Alexander Zemlianichenko/ Pool via AP]

North Korea says it has never supplied weapons to Russia and has no plans to do so, condemning US claims of arms transfers for the Ukraine war as an attempt at “tarnishing” the country’s image.

In a statement released by the Korean Central News Agency on Thursday, an unnamed North Korean defence official said the United States and other hostile forces were “spreading a ‘rumour of arms’ dealings” between Pyongyang and Moscow.