North Korea has continued to deny any arms deal with Russia in the face of accusations by the U.S. that the regime has supplied Moscow with materiel for use in its war in Ukraine.

A statement carried by the official Korean Central News Agency on Tuesday denounced the U.S. for persistently spreading the "groundless rumor" of arms provisions from Pyongyang to Moscow.

In the statement, the vice director of military foreign affairs from the North's defense ministry said that Pyongyang has never had any deal with Russia and has no plans to do so.

The North Korean official said that the North regards the U.S.' moves as part of its hostile attempt to tarnish the image of North Korea in the international arena by invoking the illegal sanctions resolution of the U.N. Security Council (UNSC) against the North.

The U.S. intelligence authorities earlier said that North Korea is covertly supplying a significant number of artillery shells to Russia for its war in Ukraine, a claim refuted by a senior official of the North’s defense ministry in September, who warned against recklessly defaming the North.