MOSCOW: Russia on Friday (Nov 8) refused to say whether North Korean troops were fighting alongside its army against Ukraine, a day after kyiv claimed to have inflicted “losses” on Pyongyang’s soldiers.

The West, Ukraine and South Korea – citing intelligence reports – have said that North Korea has sent more than 10,000 soldiers to Russia to be deployed in combat.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Thursday that some had already taken part in fighting in Russia’s western Kursk region, where Kyiv has launched an offensive.

“Soldiers of the North Korean army are currently present on the territory of the Russian Federation… specifically in the Kursk region,” Zelenskyy told reporters.

There are “11,000. Some of these troops have already participated in hostilities against the Ukrainian army. Yes, there are already losses,” he added.

Asked by AFP about Zelenskyy’s comments on Friday, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov declined to comment.

“This issue directly concerns the course of the special military operation, so it should be addressed to the Defense Ministry,” Peskov said, using Moscow’s preferred language for its offensive.