North Korea Accuses US of Biological Warfare in Ukraine After Russia Requests North Korean Laborers in Exchange for Wheat, Machinery

North Korea accused the US on Sunday of producing biological weapons in Ukraine, echoing a Russian charge that the UN disregarded in March.

Pyongyang, a Moscow ally, declared in February that US policy was the main cause of the Ukraine problem, and this month formally recognized two self-proclaimed pro-Russian separatist areas in eastern Ukraine, leading Kyiv to sever diplomatic ties with North Korea.

North Korea Backs Russia

According to the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), Washington established several biological labs in tens of nations and territories, including Ukraine, in violation of international conventions.

Moscow accused Washington in March of sponsoring research into the creation of biological weapons in Ukraine, which Russia invaded nearly five months ago.

Both Washington and Kyiv disputed the existence of biological weapons facilities in Ukraine, with the US claiming the claims were a warning that Moscow may employ such techniques too. In March, the UN's Under-Secretary-General for Disarmament Affairs, Izumi Nakamitsu, stated that the UN was not aware of any biological weapons program in Ukraine, according to NDTV.

The Russian Defense Ministry accused the US of sponsoring the establishment of biological research facilities, adding that the Pentagon at the US military headquarters had been conducting tests to manufacture forbidden biological weapons.

The Russian Ministry of Defense said in a report that the US military conducted bat coronavirus-related research while accusing Ukraine's diplomatic partner of developing bioagents in Kyiv that would be used to target ethnic groups.

According to the Russian defense ministry, Washington conducted an R-781 project in which bats were used as carriers of potential biological weapons, and official documents were shared as evidence. Other studies looked at bacterial and viral infections that may be transferred from bats to people, such as plague, leptospirosis, and brucellosis pathogens, as well as coronaviruses and filoviruses.

Russia Calls For North Korean Laborers For Help in Donbas

The initiative involved not just Ukrainian facilities, but also Georgian biological laboratories are overseen by the Pentagon, as well as Virginia Polytechnic Institute and the US Geological Survey. According to Russia, such experiments were developed with the assistance of laboratories in Kyiv, Kharkiv, and Odesa and were planned to last until 2020, Republic World reported.

Russia expects North Korean labor to help reconstruct two self-proclaimed republics in eastern Ukraine, with Pyongyang likely to be compensated with much-needed industrial equipment and wheat from parts of Ukraine currently under Russian military control.

The Russian ambassador to North Korea, Alexander Matsegora, remarked in an interview with the Izvestia daily. Assisting North Korea in getting equipment, technology, or cash would be a violation of UN sanctions aimed at discouraging Pyongyang from constructing more nuclear weapons or improved missiles. Russia, as a member of the UN Security Council, has previously backed sanctions on North Korea but is now looking for new friends as it faces its trade and other embargoes.

After Russia and Syria, North Korea is the third country to officially recognize Donetsk and Luhansk as autonomous republics. Denis Pushilin, the leader of the Donetsk People's Republic, called Pyongyang's recognition a diplomatic achievement and said he looked forward to active and productive collaboration with North Korea, as per The Telegraph via MSN.