President Vladimir Putin on Thursday did not deny US claims that North Korea had sent troops to Russia but said that it was up to Moscow how to run its mutual defense clause with Pyongyang and accused the West of escalating the Ukraine war.
Asked by a reporter about satellite imagery showing North Korean troop movements, Putin said: "Images are a serious thing. If there are images, then they reflect something."
But he said it was the West which had escalated the Ukraine crisis and said NATO officers and instructors were directly involved in the Ukraine war. "We know who is present there, from which European NATO countries, and how they carry out this work," Putin said.
The Kremlin chief specifically mentioned Article 4 of the Russian partnership deal with North Korea that deals with mutual defense.
"There is article 4. We have never doubted in the least that the North Korean leadership takes our agreements seriously. But what we do within the framework of this article is our business," Putin said.