Russia on Friday denied reports that its ports were intermediaries for banned North Korean coal exports, helping to disguise shipments of the sanctioned commodity to South Korea and Japan.

A Reuters report published earlier day cited unnamed “Western intelligence sources” and claimed North Korea sent coal to the Russian Far East before its re-export to other destinations.

UN member states are prohibited from importing numerous North Korean metals, including coal and iron, two of the DPRK’s long-standing, high-value exports.

But Moscow’s embassy in Pyongyang denied the claims via Russia’s Interfax news agency, calling the allegations ” rumors.”

“Russia does