If there are images they are a reflection of something,’ he said in a tongue-in-cheek answer to whether Pyongyang had sent troops to help with Russia’s war in Ukraine.

This week Russian President Vladimir Putin stood on a stage with Chinese President Xi Jinping and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian. The war in Ukraine has brought Putin closer to both countries, and more dependent on them.

The first group of North Korean troops have been sent to the Russian region of Kursk where some have tried to desert, according to reports. Ukraine launched an incursion into the Russian region on August 6 and Putin is said to be planning to use the North Korean soldiers in his fight to recapture territory.