White House: North Korea has sent military equipment, munitions to Russia

Oct. 14 (UPI) -- The White House has accused North Korea of sending hundreds of containers of military equipment and munitions to Russia for use in the Kremlin's illegal war against Ukraine.

National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told reporters on Friday the shipments came in the form of more than 1,000 containers headed from the Korean peninsula into Russian territory.

At the same time, the White House released images it says shows North Korea placing the containers onto a ship heading to Russia.

"We condemn the DPRK [North Korea] for providing Russia with this military equipment, which will be used to kill Ukrainian civilians and further Russia's illegitimate war," Kirby said.

The NSC official also said Russia was providing North Korea with military assistance in exchange for the supplies.

"We assess that Pyongyang is seeking military assistance from Russia including fighter aircraft surface to air missiles armored vehicles, ballistic missile production equipment, or other materials or other advanced technologies," Kirby said.

The U.S. assessment comes a week after the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies and its Beyond Parallel analytics division similarly released satellite images showing a build-up of railcars and covered shipping containers at the North Korean border with Russia.

The analysts suggested the build-up could be evidence of weapons being transferred from North Korea to Russia to be used to prop up its invasion of Ukraine.

South Korea on Saturday said it is reviewing "additional measures" aimed at halting the expanding military ties between North Korea and Russia.

An unnamed senior government official told the Yonhap news agency the apparent arms trading "constitutes a clear violation of United Nations Security Council resolutions and poses a serious threat to peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula."

North Korea and Russia share a 10.7-mile land border as well as a maritime border measuring 12 nautical miles.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un last month traveled by rail on an armored train to Russia for a summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin. The two toured weapons factories and other facilities during the state visit, where Kim invited Putin to take a reciprocal trip to North Korea.

The visit was Kim's longest international trip since taking power from his late father in 2011.

Putin later told Russian state media the meeting between the two leaders "opened a new chapter" in the relationship between the countries.

Kim is reportedly seeking advanced technology for his country's space and missile programs. It wasn't clear what any agreement between Russia and North entailed as far as payment.