NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said on Monday (October 28) he could confirm that North Korean troops have been sent to Russia and that North Korean military units have been deployed to the Kursk region, Reuters reports.
"Today, I can confirm that North Korean troops have been sent to Russia and that North Korean military units have been deployed to the Kursk region. The deployment of North Korean troops represents, one, a significant escalation in the DPRK's ongoing involvement in Russia's illegal war. Two, yet another breach of U.N. Security Council resolutions.
And three, a dangerous expansion of Russia's war. NATO calls on Russia and the DPRK to cease these actions immediately. The deepening military cooperation between Russia and North Korea is a threat to both the Indo-Pacific and Euro-Atlantic security. It undermines peace on the Korean Peninsula and fuels the Russian war against Ukraine. But the deployment of North Korean troops to Kursk is also a sign of (Russian President Vladimir) Putin's growing desperation.
Over 600,000 Russian soldiers have been killed or wounded in Putin's war, and he is unable to sustain his assault on Ukraine without foreign support," Rutte told reporters after NATO officials and diplomats received a briefing from a South Korean delegation.
