The North Korean leader's powerful sister Kim Yo Jong said peace overtures being made by South Korea's new liberal government were "deception" and denied Pyongyang had taken reciprocal action, state news agency KCNA reported on Thursday.

Putin during the call on Tuesday praised the “bravery, heroism and self-sacrificing spirit” displayed by North Korean troops as they fought with Russian forces to repel a Ukrainian incursion into Russia’s Kursk border region,

Russian leader Vladimir Putin has held a phone conversation with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un to brief him on the progress of the war in Ukraine and thank him for his support ahead of Friday's meeting with US President Donald Trump in Alaska.