North Korea has denied having arms deals with Russia, accusing the U.S. of tarnishing its image by the allegation.

The denial was contained in a statement published by the state news agency KCNA on Tuesday.

The Foreign Ministry in Pyongyang said Washington was persistently spreading a groundless “rumour of arms dealings” between North Korea and Russia to make it a fait accompli at any cost.

The ministry accused the U.S. of attempting to tarnish the image of North Korea in the international arena by invoking what it calls “illegal” resolutions by the United Nations Security Council.

“We once again make clear that we have never had ‘arms dealings’ with Russia and that we have no plan to do so in the future,” the statement continued.

The U.S. government last week accused North Korea of secretly supporting Russia with military equipment in its war against Ukraine.

National Security Council communications director John Kirby said North Korea was trying to disguise the deliveries of artillery shells via other countries, for example, in the Middle East.

Mr Kirby said the U.S. would continue to monitor whether the shipments were arriving.

North Korea had previously denied providing weapons and ammunition to Russia in September.

At the time, Mr Kirby spoke of millions of rockets and artillery shells that Moscow could purchase from Pyongyang. However, he stressed that the U.S. had no evidence of any sales.

According to military experts, Russia has business relations with the Asian autocracy, which is excluded from world trade.

It revealed the supply bottlenecks the Russian military was facing due to international sanctions imposed on Moscow due to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Largely isolated, North Korea has pledged its support for Russia since the beginning of the conflict in February, a move that has largely triggered outrage in the West.

Pyongyang is subject to tough international sanctions because of its nuclear weapons programme.