North Korea on Monday dismissed as “groundless rumors” the accusations from South Korea and Ukraine that it is sending soldiers to fight alongside Russia in the war in Ukraine.

“As for the so-called military cooperation with Russia, my delegation does not feel any need for comment on such groundless stereotyped rumors aimed at smearing the image of the DPRK and undermining the legitimate, friendly and cooperative relations between two sovereign states,” a North Korean representative to the United Nations said during a session of the UN General Assembly First Committee on disarmament and international security.

It was the first public comment from a North Korean official since South Korea’s spy agency last week said the North had decided to send around 12,000 troops to fight Russia’s war in Ukraine, and it already dispatched 1,500 soldiers to Vladivostok for adaptation training, South Korea’s (Yonhap) News Agency said.

His remark came in response to the Ukrainian envoy accusing Pyongyang of planning to soon
send 11,000 regular troops to help Russia’s war efforts in Ukraine.

Source: Qatar News Agency