North Korea said on Friday any move to send its troops to assist Russia in its war in Ukraine would be in line with international law, although it stopped short of confirming that such a deployment had taken place, Paralel.Az reports citing Reuters.

Ukraine, the United States and other Western allies say they have evidence that Pyongyang has sent thousands of troops to Russia for possible deployment against Ukraine.

Previously both Pyongyang and the Kremlin had dismissed such reports as baseless rumours. But when asked about the reports on Thursday, Russian President Vladimir Putin stopped short of denying them.

Ukraine says North Korean participation in the war could amount to the crime of aggression under international law.

In a statement reported by North Korea's KCNA news agency, Vice Foreign Minister Kim Jong Gyu said the foreign ministry was not directly involved in matters handled by the defence ministry and would not comment directly on any deployment.

However, he added: "If there is such a thing that the world media is talking about, I think it will be an act conforming with the regulations of international law."