North Korea has claimed the US "can never defeat the heroic Russian army" in a scathing verbal attack on the US for its role in supplying long-range missiles to Ukraine.
Speaking yesterday, the director of the Department of Foreign Military Affairs of North Korea's Ministry of National Defence claimed American aid to Ukraine was "sparking uneasiness" in the international community, with military ties growing between the isolated nation and Russia.
The director said: "The US has secretly supplied long-range missiles to Ukraine, sparking off uneasiness and concern of the international community.
"The US can never defeat the heroic Russian army and people with any latest weaponry or military support."
North Korean officials accused the US of sparking concern by supplying missiles to Russian adversary Ukraine
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The criticism is just the latest jab levelled at the US by North Korea in the last couple of days - on Saturday, officials accused it of "politicising" human rights in the country and decried what it said was conspiracy and political provocation.
North Korean state media outlet KCNA quoted a foreign ministry spokesperson as saying Pyongyang would make "stern and decisive" choices to protect its sovereignty and safety.
The spokesperson also claimed the US would use human rights as a tool for invasion, and accused it of "anti-North Korea behaviour" after an American human rights envoy visited rival capitals Seoul and Tokyo to discuss the country.
The envoy's East Asian trip followed an annual report published by the State Department this week which critiqued "significant human rights issues" in North Korea.
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Putin and Kim met in Russia in September last year to discuss space technology and arms agreements
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The State Department paper covered credible reports of "arbitrary or unlawful killings, including extrajudicial killings; enforced disappearance; torture or cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment by government authorities" in the country.
North Korea also slammed the US for its calls for Pyongyang to stop launching missiles and other rockets - which Washington calls violations of UN resolutions.
"We will carry out our critical mission as planned to enhance our space reconnaissance capabilities to ensure the security of our country," KCNA said in a statement citing a spokesperson for North Korea's National Aerospace Development Administration.
Verbal pot-shots at the US from North Korea are to be expected - but the country's praise for Russia marks a continued tightening of ties with the American adversary.
In September, Kim Jong-un cosied up to Vladimir Putin in a rare foreign visit to Russia's Far East which saw the pair discuss arms agreements and space technology - prompting outrage from Western allies.
White House national security council spokesperson John Kirby slammed the meeting, which saw Kim cross the border on an armoured train, saying: "No nation on the planet, nobody, should be helping Mr Putin kill innocent Ukrainians."
But Russia's US ambassador Anatoly Antonov accused Washington - which supplies Ukraine with weaponry - of hypocrisy; Antonov said at the time that "the US has no right to lecture us on how to live".
And last week, North Korean delegates visited Iran - which has provided Russia with a large number of ballistic missiles - to discuss bilateral trade; the pair have long been accused of collaboration on missile programmes - but Iranian officials were quick to shut such accusations down.
