Washington, D.C [US], August 1 (ANI): The United States on Monday (local time) said that it would not hesitate to impose sanctions on North Korea and Russia when necessary as they have already done it in the past a number of times.

The US State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller's remarks came in response to a question about the Russian defence minister's recent trip to Pyongyang.

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"I am not going to speak in any more detail but will say that we have imposed a number of sanctions on North Korea in the past for various activities. We have also imposed sanctions on a no of entities and individuals around the world for assisting Russia in its war effort. We would not hesitate to do so in the future," Matthew Miller said during a regular State Dept briefing on Monday (local time).

Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu visited North Korea last week for celebrations of the 70th anniversary of the armistice that ended the Korean War, which is known as Victory Day there.

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Matthew Miller also emphasised that the close ties between Pyongyang and Moscow have "not exactly been productive" for the world's security.

He said, "Obviously, there has been a close relationship between those two countries for a while...when that's not exactly been productive to increasing the security of the world, I wouldn't expect that to change as a result of this meeting."

"I would certainly say that it did not appear that Defence Minister Shoigu was in Russia for vacation," the State Dept spokesperson, Miller said on the Russian Defence Minister's Pyongyang visit.

Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu arrived in Pyongyang on Tuesday last week for a three-day visit to attend commemorative events marking one of the North's key anniversaries on July 27, which the North refers to as Victory Day, Yonhap reported.

Despite maintaining strict border restrictions since 2020 to contain the pandemic, the reclusive state has invited delegations from China and Russia, which share strong ties with the North, in a rare invitation of official foreign guests since the COVID-19 breakout.

North Korea has been strengthening its ties with Russia despite international condemnation of Moscow's war with Ukraine, amid allegations that Pyongyang has provided arms to Moscow for use in the war, Yonhap reported.

During Shoigu's visit, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un introduced weapons the North has produced under its national defence development plan and shared his views on the "worldwide trend of weaponry development and its strategy" and the security agenda facing the two countries. (ANI)

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