Russia Denies Allegations Of Military Cooperation With North Korea, US Considered Spreading Gossip

JAKARTA - Russia has firmly denied accusations from the United States and its allies regarding Russia's illegal military technical cooperation with North Korea (North Korea).

Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman Maria Zakharova said the US was making up a story about Russia-North Korea's military cooperation so that South Korea (South Korea) was on the US side regarding Russia's war against Ukraine.

Zakharova noted South Korean military officials began talking about military aid for Ukraine shortly after rumors of cooperation between Moscow and Pyongyang surfaced.

He said the US was spreading gossip with the intention of seeking additional sources to recharge Ukraine's arsenal, as well as to develop military infrastructure in the Asia-Pacific region.

"Russia has the right to develop friendly relations with North Korea. Cooperation with this country has long historical roots, does not threaten the security of neighboring countries and has been tested by time," he said as quoted by ANTARA from Anadolu, Saturday, January 27.

Turning to NATO's plan (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) to hold a large-scale military exercise called Steadfast Defender 2024 near Russia's borders, Zakharova denounced the plan as a "provocative" act.

"This move is deliberately aimed at exacerminating the situation and increasing the risk of military incidents and, as a result, could have tragic consequences for Europe," he said, warning.

For months, a group of troops consisting of 90 thousand personnel from 31 NATO and Swedish member states will be near Russia's borders in the region from Norway to Romania, Zakharova said.

"Russia has no plans to attack NATO countries," he said.

Zakharova also criticized Sweden's entry into NATO, which may be imminent, and said the move would have a "very negative effect" on stability in Northern Europe and the Baltic region.

"For example, the longstanding non-military policy and joining a block that is openly hostile to Russia does not seem to strengthen a sense of security among the ordinary Swedish people," he said.

Russia will take responsive steps because Sweden's entry into NATO is risky. A concrete step will be determined depending on what system NATO will deploy in Sweden, he said.

On Thursday (25/1), a law passed by Turkish parliament approved Sweden's membership in NATO was published in Turkey's Official News Announcement, which is a stage of ratification completion.

New member admissions require full vote support from all NATO members. Hungary is currently the only member country that has not ratified Sweden's accession.