The Treasury said that Mkrtychev's negotiations with North Korean and Russian officials "detailed mutually beneficial cooperation," adding that Mkrtychev confirmed Russia's readiness to receive military equipment from North Korea with senior Russian officials. Russia's embassy in Washington and North Korea's mission to the United Nations in New York did not immediately respond to requests for comment. In December, the White House said private Russian military company, the Wagner Group, took delivery of an arms shipment from North Korea to help bolster Russian forces in Ukraine. In November, after the White House said Pyongyang was covertly supplying Russia with a "significant" number of artillery shells, North Korea said it had never had arms dealings with Russia and has no plans to do so. Reporting By Arshad Mohammed, Daphne Psaledakis and Kanishka Singh; Editing by Josie KaoOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

---