Russia, Zelensky claim to dispatch North Korean troops "unrelated"

In response to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky's claim of "sending North Korean troops," Russia pointed out that "who and how are involved in special military operations have nothing to do with it."

"The Ukrainian regime would do well to mention what needs to be mentioned," Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman Mariya Zakharova said at a briefing on the 16th local time.

Zakharova went on to urge the Russian military to provide grounds for its alleged slaughter of civilians in Bucha, Ukraine.

Zakharova criticized Japan's recent accusation that North Korea is escalating tensions around the Korean Peninsula, saying, "The thief is my own."

He also warned about Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba's call for the deployment of U.S. nuclear weapons on his territory along with the creation of an Asian version of NATO, saying, "If nuclear weapons are deployed to Japan, stability in the already suffering region will collapse."