North Korean leader's sister denies weapons export allegations to Russia

Kim Yo-jong, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un's sister, is seen in this July 31, 2023 photo. Yonhap

The influential sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un dismissed allegations of military cooperation between Pyongyang and Moscow on Friday, emphasizing that North Korean weapons are solely intended to target Seoul, not for exports to Russia.

The statement by Kim Yo-jong, who serves as the vice department director of the ruling Workers' Party of Korea, came amid suspicions that North Korea has supplied weapons to Russia to support its war in Ukraine.

"We have no intention to export our military technical capabilities to any country or open them to the public," Kim said in a statement carried by the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), saying such allegations are "the most absurd paradox."

Kim said North Korea's tactical weapons, including multiple rocket launchers and missiles, are intended to deter South Korea from engaging in "any idle thinking," in an apparent reference to the South Korea-U.S. joint military drills.

North Korea has long denounced the allies' military drills as rehearsals for an invasion against it, while Seoul and Washington have rejected such claims, describing their exercises as defensive in nature.

"What is most urgent for us is not to 'advertise' or 'export' something but to make the war readiness and war deterrent of our army more perfect in quality and quantity and to make the enemy unable to overcome the inferiority in military capability," she said.

North Korean leader Kim has recently inspected sites of weapons development, but he did not issue any bellicose messages against South Korea, spawning speculation that the North has been ramping up arms production for exports to Russia.

On May 10, he oversaw a test-firing of controllable shells for "the technically updated version" of the 240mm multiple rocket launcher system. The weapon system is believed to target South Korea's broader capital area.

Over the weekend, Kim paid a visit to major defense industrial enterprises and inspected the modernization of production lines and production plans for the year.

He also inspected a new tactical missile weapons system earlier this week and called for an "epochal change" in war preparations by attaining arms production plans.

South Korea's unification ministry said Friday that North Korea's denial of providing weapons to Russia, despite clear evidence, is showing that the regime is aware of the illegality of such actions.

"We must once again emphasize that the arms trade between Russia and North Korea is an illegal act that violates the U.N. Security Council resolutions and undermines international norms," said Kim In-ae, deputy spokesperson at the ministry, during a press briefing. (Yonhap)