News - World: President Vladimir Putin's spokesman has dismissed a report claiming North Korean soldiers are fighting alongside Russian troops in its war in Ukraine.

Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Thursday the claim by Seoul that North Korean troops were likely to be fighting alongside Russian troops in Donbas was "fake news." 

"This seems like yet another fake news story," he told journalists without further explanation.

The Kiev Post reported on Friday that six North Korean soldiers had been killed in a Ukrainian missile attack targeting Donetsk.

On Tuesday, Seoul's defense minister said the Ukrainian media report that six North Korean military officers had been killed alongside Russian troops in the missile attack were "highly likely" to be true.

"We assess that the occurrence of casualties among North Korean officers and soldiers in Ukraine is highly likely, considering various circumstances," Kim Yong-hyun told lawmakers.

"The issue of deploying regular troops is highly likely due to the mutual agreements that resemble a military alliance between Russia and North Korea," he said.

Kim said that he expected Pyongyang to send more troops to support the Russian military campaign in Donbas.

Putin, who visited North Korea in June for his first official visit to Pyongyang in 24 years, meets regularly with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.

During the visit, Putin lashed out at the US and its allies over their schemes to change the objective of a multipolar world.

"Today, we are fighting together against the hegemonism and neo-colonial practices of the United States and its satellites," Russian state news agencies quoted Putin as saying.

Putin sees the Russian nation faced with a military threat by NATO countries waging what it calls a proxy war through Ukraine.

The North Korean leader, too, sees his nation confronted with a decades-long threat posed by what Kim has described as “the reckless expansion” of a military alliance led by the United States in the region.

During his visit to Pyongyang in June, the two countries signed a new partnership treaty with a mutual defense clause.

In July, Kim highlighted the need for North Korea and Russia to strengthen cooperation between their armies to neutralize the US military's collaboration with its regional allies’ armies.

Source: Press TV