The US claimed on Friday that North Korea has provided arms for Moscow to use in Ukraine, releasing images the White House says shows containers moving into Russia by ship.
White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby on a press call said that Pyongyang had provided Moscow with “more than 1,000 containers of military equipment and munitions”.
North Korea has built up a vast arsenal of artillery but is subject to a 2006 UN arms embargo that bans Pyongyang from exporting or importing weapons.
Washington is also “increasingly concerned” about Russian assistance to North Korea, Mr Kirby said.
He added that US intelligence has assessed Pyongyang is actively seeking military assistance from Russia, including in the form of fighter aircraft surface to air missiles, armoured vehicles, ballistic missile production equipment and “other advanced technologies”.
“We are monitoring closely whether Moscow will provide Pyongyang with these materials and we have already observed that Russian ships offloading containers in the DPRK which may constitute the initial deliveries of material from Russia,” Mr Kirby added, using North Korea's official abbreviation.
Last month, South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol warned of the growing alliance between Russia and North Korea after a high-profile visit to Russia by North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, who met Russian President Vladimir Putin to discuss increasing military co-operation.
Meanwhile, the escalation of violence between Israel and Gaza has further complicated US President Joe Biden's promised support of Ukraine, which is already facing resistance from some Republicans in Congress.
Since Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine in February last year, the US has approved about $113 billion in military and humanitarian aid.
Mr Biden spoke with allies last week to shore up support for Ukraine after a chaos-riddled Congress passed a short-term funding bill that left out any new assistance for Kyiv.
Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin on Thursday sought to assure allies at a Nato defence partners meeting that Washington “can and will stand by Israel, even as we stand by Ukraine”.
But members of Congress have expressed scepticism that there will be enough support to pair aid to Ukraine with aid to Israel.
A majority of Republicans in the House of Representatives opposed $300 million for the Pentagon to arm Ukraine two weeks ago.
“This is going to be a leadership call,” House Foreign Affairs Chair Michael McCaul told reporters this week after a classified briefing on the situation in Israel.
“They’ve had discussions with [the White House Office of Management and Budget].”
He added: We’re looking at a variety of options that would include all four of those things,” referring to funding for Ukraine, Israel, Taiwan and border security.
Ukraine-Russia conflict latest – in pictures
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Education: Mr Al Bahar was born in 1979 and graduated in 2008 from the Judicial Institute. He took after his father, who was one of the first Emirati lawyers
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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Squid Game season two
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Earth under attack: Cosmic impacts throughout history
- 4.5 billion years ago: Mars-sized object smashes into the newly-formed Earth, creating debris that coalesces to form the Moon
- 66 million years ago: 10km-wide asteroid crashes into the Gulf of Mexico, wiping out over 70 per cent of living species – including the dinosaurs.
- 50,000 years ago: 50m-wide iron meteor crashes in Arizona with the violence of 10 megatonne hydrogen bomb, creating the famous 1.2km-wide Barringer Crater
- 1490: Meteor storm over Shansi Province, north-east China when large stones “fell like rain”, reportedly leading to thousands of deaths.
- 1908: 100-metre meteor from the Taurid Complex explodes near the Tunguska river in Siberia with the force of 1,000 Hiroshima-type bombs, devastating 2,000 square kilometres of forest.
- 1998: Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 breaks apart and crashes into Jupiter in series of impacts that would have annihilated life on Earth.
-2013: 10,000-tonne meteor burns up over the southern Urals region of Russia, releasing a pressure blast and flash that left over 1600 people injured.
Key figures in the life of the fort
Sheikh Dhiyab bin Isa (ruled 1761-1793) Built Qasr Al Hosn as a watchtower to guard over the only freshwater well on Abu Dhabi island.
Sheikh Shakhbut bin Dhiyab (ruled 1793-1816) Expanded the tower into a small fort and transferred his ruling place of residence from Liwa Oasis to the fort on the island.
Sheikh Tahnoon bin Shakhbut (ruled 1818-1833) Expanded Qasr Al Hosn further as Abu Dhabi grew from a small village of palm huts to a town of more than 5,000 inhabitants.
Sheikh Khalifa bin Shakhbut (ruled 1833-1845) Repaired and fortified the fort.
Sheikh Saeed bin Tahnoon (ruled 1845-1855) Turned Qasr Al Hosn into a strong two-storied structure.
Sheikh Zayed bin Khalifa (ruled 1855-1909) Expanded Qasr Al Hosn further to reflect the emirate's increasing prominence.
Sheikh Shakhbut bin Sultan (ruled 1928-1966) Renovated and enlarged Qasr Al Hosn, adding a decorative arch and two new villas.
Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan (ruled 1966-2004) Moved the royal residence to Al Manhal palace and kept his diwan at Qasr Al Hosn.
Sources: Jayanti Maitra, www.adach.ae
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