North Korea’s foreign ministry defended its right to deploy troops to support Russia without explicitly confirming their alleged involvement in Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine, a marked departure from last week’s denial of the claims as “groundless” rumors.

In a statement released through the state-owned Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) on Friday, DPRK vice foreign minister Kim Jong Gyu said the “rumor” of soldiers being dispatched to Russia is a matter for Pyongyang’s defense ministry, stating that the foreign ministry “does not feel the need to confirm it separately.”