"The international community will have to focus on the U.S. criminal acts of bringing bloodshed and destruction to Ukraine by providing it with various kinds of lethal weapons and equipment on a large scale, rather than lending an ear to the groundless theory of 'arms transaction' between the DPRK and Russia cooked up by some dishonest forces for different purposes.Wagner Group chief Yevgeny Prigozhin—an influential oligarch and ally of President Vladimir Putin—denied Kirby's allegation."Everyone knows that North Korea has not been supplying any weapons to Russia for a long time," Prigozhin said Thursday in a statement carried by Reuters.Known as "Putin's chef" due to the fortune he made from Kremlin catering contracts, Prigozhin for years built and operated Wagner while publicly disavowing any links to the group.Prigozhin has moved more into the spotlight since the February invasion, becoming a key cheerleader for the so-called "special military operation" and proudly taking up the mantle of Wagner owner, even fronting the group's recruitment drive among Russia's prison population."