Ukraine's military intelligence service said on Thursday that the first North Korean units trained in Russia had been deployed in the Kursk region, a Russian border area where Ukrainian forces staged a major incursion in August, Paralel.Az reports citing Reuters.

The Kremlin has previously dismissed reports about the North's troop deployment as "fake news". But Russian president Vladimir Putin said on Thursday that it was Moscow's business how to implement a partnership treaty with Pyongyang.

Putin did not deny that North Korean troops were currently in Russia.

"The first units of the military from the DPRK, which were trained at the eastern Russian training grounds, have already arrived in the combat zone of the Russian-Ukrainian war. In particular, on October 23, 2024, their presence was recorded in the Kursk region," the Ukrainian intelligence agency said in a statement.

It said a total of around 12,000 North Korean troops, including 500 officers and three generals, were already in Russia, and training was taking place on five military bases.