Ukrainian Defense Minister Denies Reported Missile Engine Deliveries to N Korea

The reports suggesting that Ukraine missile engines could have been obtained by North Korea are completely untrue, Ukrainian Defense Minister Stepan Poltorak said Wednesday.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) – On Monday, The New York Times newspaper reported, citing an expert analysis and classified assessments by US intelligence agencies, that North Korea’s successful intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) launches may be due to possibly illicit purchases of missile engines from Ukraine's state-owned aerospace manufacturer Yuzhmash.

"We have been attributed to all the scandals in the world, it is another reference to something that has not occurred, nor could occur, it is an absolute fake, and I would prefer not to discuss the topic. It has no grounds in reality," Poltorak told reporters.

The reports of alleged deliveries of arms and military technologies to North Korea have already been refuted by Ukrainian officials, including Prime Minister Volodymyr Groysman and National Security and Defense Council Secretary Oleksandr Turchynov. Kiev has also already expressed its intention to launch an investigation into North Korea's missile program in order to throw off suspicions that Ukraine transferred sensitive rocket technology to Pyongyang.

Yuzhmash has also denied any involvement in North Korea's space or defense-related missile programs. The plant also pointed out that it had produced neither missiles nor missile systems since Ukraine became an independent state after the dissolution of the Soviet Union.