Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has said US allegations that Moscow is receiving military assistance from North Korea are mere “rumours”, the Russian state news agency TASS reported on Friday.

The White House said on Oct. 13 that North Korea recently provided Russia with a shipment of weapons, calling it a troubling development and raising concerns about the expanded military relationship between the two countries.

Russia’s Lavrov to visit North Korea on Wednesday: Moscow

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and Russian President Vladimir Putin met for a rare summit last month at which they discussed military matters, the war in Ukraine and possible Russian help for the secretive state’s satellite programme.