The Voice of America reported that a U.S. State Department official has for the first time commented on the rumored equipment and technology support provided to North Korea by the Chinese telecom giant Huawei.

The report from Friday cited Robert Strayer, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Cyber and International Communications and Information Policy, who held a media interview in London on Thursday.

During the interview Strayer said that it "really comes as no surprise" that Huawei is supplying technology to authoritarian regimes.

He said the firm had supplied its technology to Iran and that it would be no surprise they are doing the same to North Korea.

Strayer noted that if countries include untrustworthy vendors that potentially insert malicious code in software updates, the U.S. will have to consider how it shares valuable information with those governments.

He said the U.S. will also have to consider how it is going to work within NATO since the untrustworthy vendors in 5G networks could interfere with troop mobilization.

He added Washington is talking with all of its partners around the globe including South Korea and sharing views on adopting security practices for 5G networks.