"The True Meaning of North Korea's Will Not to Sell Weapons to Russia'' by Keisuke Fukada for Tokyo Keizai Online

"There is no need to take what was announced in the statement seriously. On the other hand, by saying no to allegations of arms deals, he may want to avoid a decisive confrontation with the United States." Katsuhisa Furukawa, a former expert panel member of the United Nations Security Council's North Korea Sanctions Committee, who is familiar with North Korea's foreign trade, analysed.

Mr. Furukawa also points out that if the arms export is discovered, "the partner country for arms exports is not Russia, but the Donetsk and Luhansk People's Republics, which it unilaterally recognized as a state. Both sides could claim legally incorrect excuses such as Russia's unilateral annexation, but not being a member of the United Nations and not subject to UN sanctions," he added.