Basil Rajapaksa, the Minister of Finance has stated that he has taken dollars from the black market and bought weapons from North Korea.

He had hinted with the newspaper that during the pre-2009 war, the army had procured weapons in such a manner when it needed them.

However, External Affairs Minister Peiris has revised the statement stating that he had discussed the matter with Basil Rajapaksa and that they had not expressed such an opinion.

 Opposition lawmakers have lashed out at the finance minister’s statement, saying the purchase of arms from North Korea was “surprising”.

Foreign media also reported on the statement, saying that it had been leaked to WikiLeaks Cable some time ago.