Putin, who avoided mentioning North Korea again... "Shame to admit it."

Russian President Vladimir Putin is deliberately avoiding mentioning the participation of North Korean troops in the war in Ukraine, according to an analysis by a specialized agency.

In a report released online on the 19th local time, ISW, a U.S. think tank, made the comment by analyzing Putin's annual press conference.

Putin spent four and a half hours at the conference explaining the war situation and Russia's economic and foreign policy, but did not mention the North Korean military at all.

In response, the ISW said, "President Putin appears to be ashamed to acknowledge that it takes North Korean troops to drive Ukrainian forces out of his territory."

The ISW also said that there are circumstances in which Russia is trying to hide the North Korean military's major.

According to some Russian military bloggers, the 155 Marine Brigade and North Korean troops recently recovered the Plehovo region of Kursk, and some of the 155 Marine Brigade claimed responsibility for the North Korean military's solo occupation without Russian help.

The ISW predicted that Putin's decision not to acknowledge the North Korean military's contribution to the fight could lead to efforts to erase "evidence of the war," which in turn could limit the scope of the North's support.

Earlier, Western camps, including Ukraine, have analyzed that the North Korean military is being consumed as a "bullet-eater" on the front line and that there are signs of a shortage of supplies.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has also claimed that Russia burns the faces of the dead to hide the identities of North Korean soldiers.

The ISW further assessed that considering Putin's "deliberate disregard," it is highly likely that a larger number of North Korean troops are also hiding the fact that they are participating in the battle beyond Kursk even within Ukrainian territory.