On October 21, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters that cooperation between Russia and North Korea is not aimed at other countries, so there is no cause for concern.
"North Korea is our close neighbor, our partner and we are developing relations in all areas. This is our sovereign right," TASS quoted the spokesman as emphasizing.
"This does not worry anyone because cooperation between Russia and North Korea is not aimed at third countries. We will continue to develop this cooperation," Mr. Peskov emphasized.
Regarding information about the presence of North Korean military personnel in Russia, the Kremlin spokesman said: "We see a lot of contradictory information: South Korea claims one thing, then the Pentagon says that they do not confirm such statements."
On October 19, US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin admitted that he could not confirm information from Ukraine about the presence of North Korean troops in the area of Russia's special military operations.
"This is a question about conducting special military operations, you should ask the Ministry of National Defence," the Kremlin spokesman added when asked whether North Korean servicemen were in Russia and whether they planned to participate in special military operations in Ukraine.
Earlier, on October 10, Mr. Peskov said that the press's accusations about the participation of the North Korean army in Russia's special military operation in Ukraine were just another fabrication.
In another development, AFP reported that on October 21, the South Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs said it had summoned Russian Ambassador Georgy Zinoviev to criticize Pyongyang's decision to send thousands of troops to support Moscow's conflict in Ukraine, and called for its immediate withdrawal.
South Korean Deputy Foreign Minister Kim Hong-kyun expressed Seoul's "deep concern over North Korea's recent troop deployment to Russia, strongly calling for its immediate withdrawal and cessation of related cooperation," the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement.
According to TASS, Russian Ambassador to South Korea Georgy Zinoviev affirmed that cooperation between Moscow and Pyongyang is not aimed against Seoul.
"Ambassador Zinoviev stressed that cooperation between Russia and North Korea is carried out within the framework of international law and is not aimed against the security interests of South Korea," the statement of the Russian Embassy in South Korea said.
