▲ This file photo, captured from footage from North Korea's state-run Korea Central Television on Sept. 14, 2023, shows North Korean leader Kim Jong-un (L) and Russian President Vladimir Putin holding talks in Russia the previous day. (For Use Only in the Republic of Korea. No Redistribution) (Yonhap)

(LEAD) N Korea-Russia-arms deal

(LEAD) Unification ministry slams N. Korea over suspected arms transfer to Russia

(ATTN: UPDATES with defense official's remarks in paras 7-8; CHANGES photo)

SEOUL, Oct. 16 (Yonhap) -- The unification ministry lambasted North Korea on Monday for its suspected arms transfer to Russia, saying that it has exposed the true nature of the North deceiving the world.

In a press briefing Friday, John Kirby, the U.S. National Security Council coordinator for strategic communications, said Pyongyang has delivered more than 1,000 containers of military equipment and munitions to Russia in recent weeks for use in Ukraine.

The revelation came amid lingering suspicions that the two countries may have struck an arms deal on the occasion of the summit between North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and Russian President Vladimir Putin on Sept. 13.

"North Korea has denied an arms trade with Russia several times, but relevant circumstances are emerging one by one," ministry spokesperson Koo Byoung-sam said in a regular press briefing. "The true nature of North Korea, which has attempted to deceive the whole world, has been exposed."

Koo stressed that any illicit weapons trade with North Korea should be halted, as it would constitute a violation of United Nations Security Council resolutions against the North's nuclear and missile programs.

"Russia should especially fulfill its responsibility and role as a permanent member of the U.N. Security Council," he said.

A defense ministry official confirmed the signs of the North's recent delivery of such containers to Russia by ship, noting it could amount to hundreds of thousands of artillery shells.

"Considering the containers' capacity, it would be an amount equivalent to hundreds of thousands of shells, which are in most need by Russia," the official said, declining to provide further details.

A senior official at Seoul's foreign ministry earlier said the government will "monitor the trends in military cooperation between Russia and North Korea and consider further measures."

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