Question to Putin about ‘North Korean soldiers’: ‘If there are images, it means something is being reflected’

After the BRICS Summit, Russian President Vladimir Putin held a press conference where he commented on satellite images indicating the presence of North Korean soldiers in Russia by saying, “If there are photos, it is serious; if there are images, it means something is being reflected.”

Following the BRICS Summit held in the city of Kazan, Tatarstan, which is part of Russia, President Putin met with journalists from around the world. He answered questions on various topics, including the ongoing tensions with the U.S. and the war in Ukraine.

In response to a question from a U.S. journalist stating, “Satellite images show North Korean troops in Russia (in Kursk). What are they doing here, and isn’t this an escalation of the war in Ukraine?”, Putin replied, “Photos are serious; if there are images, it means something is being reflected.”

Putin argued that the Western countries are the ones escalating tensions in Ukraine, stating, “I want to draw your attention to the fact that it is not Russia’s actions that have caused the escalation of tensions in Ukraine but primarily the coup supported by the U.S. in 2014. It has even been made public how much money the U.S. administration at the time spent to prepare and organize this coup. Isn’t this a path towards escalating tensions? We were deceived for eight years when they said they wanted to resolve the political conflict in Ukraine through the Minsk agreements. Later, you may have heard that some European leaders said they used this time to arm the Ukrainian army and were stalling us. Other steps towards escalating tensions were merely the Western countries actively arming the Kiev regime.”

“We never doubted that North Korean leaders take our agreements seriously”

Putin emphasized that during this process, they have signed a strategic cooperation agreement with North Korea and he has no doubt that North Korean leader Kim Jong Un is taking this agreement seriously. He stated, “As for our relations with the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, our strategic cooperation agreement has just been approved. There are four articles in the agreement, and we have never doubted that North Korean leaders take our agreements seriously. It is our business to decide what to do within the framework of these agreements. First of all, discussions need to be held about the implementation of the four articles of this agreement. Our contacts with our North Korean friends continue, and we will see how the process will progress.”

He also shared the latest situation in the Kursk region, which is still partially occupied by the Ukrainian army, stating, “In any case, the Russian army is moving confidently in all directions and advancing at every part of the combat contact line. The Russian army is also active in the Kursk region. A part of the Ukrainian army occupying the Kursk region has been surrounded by 2,000 troops. Efforts are underway to lift the outer blockade of this group and to break through from within. The Russian army has begun to eliminate this group.”

Putin also declared that he is always ready for negotiations with Ukraine, but the Kiev side has rejected this every time.

“I have not met with Trump”

In response to allegations regarding Russia’s interference in the upcoming U.S. presidential elections and whether he had met with U.S. presidential candidate Donald Trump recently, Putin said, “As for the issue of meeting with Trump, it has been discussed for more than a year. At one time, Trump was accused of having a connection with us. Later, as a result of an investigation in the U.S., I think even the members of Congress believed that this was nonsense. So it wasn’t true before, and it isn’t true now.”