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Hello and welcome to NewsHour LIVE from the BBC World Service.
In London, I'm Rebecca Kesby.
Is Russia using North Korean troops to boost its offensive against Ukraine?
It's an accusation first made fairly recently by the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelensky.
Today it was echoed by the US Defense Secretary, Lloyd Austin, who said he'd seen evidence that North Korean troops were already in Russia, but that why wasn't clear.
He said if they were used to fight in Ukraine, it would be very, very serious.
Well, our Russia editor, Steve Rosenberg, managed to catch up with a staunch Putin ally today, the Belarusian leader Alexander Lu.
He spoke to him a few hours ago at the BRICS summit in the Russian city of Kazan, and Steve asked him whether the reports that the North Korean troops had been sent to Russia to help its campaign against Ukraine were true.
That's rubbish.
That would mean an escalation of the conflict.
Knowing his character, Putin would never try to persuade a country to involve its.
Armed forces in a special military operation.