North Korea for the first time did not deny it has sent troops to Russia. 

The North’s state-run Korean Central News Agency quoted the North’s vice foreign minister in charge of Russian affairs, Kim Jong-gyu, as saying on Friday that he has heard rumors of the troop dispatch which is being publicized by international media. 

Kim said if such rumors were true, he believes the deployment will be an act that is consistent with international legal norms.

He also said he thinks that there will undoubtedly be forces that want to describe the dispatch as being illegal.

Kim said his ministry does not directly engage in the matters of the defense ministry thus does not see the need to confirm such media reports separately. 

North Korea had previously denied intelligence reports from South Korea, the U.S. and NATO regarding the North’s troop deployment, calling them “groundless rumors.”