Brussels: In a significant development, NATO on Monday announced that North Korean troops have been sent to Russia to aid in its almost three-year war against Ukraine and that some have already been deployed in Russia’s Kursk border region, where Russia has been struggling to push back a Ukrainian incursion.
“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,” NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte told reporters.
NATO Secretary-General Confirms North Korean Deployment
Rutte said that the move represents “a significant escalation” in North Korea’s involvement in the conflict and marks “a dangerous expansion of Russia’s war.” His comments came after a high-level South Korean delegation including top intelligence and military officials as well as senior diplomats briefed the alliance’s 32 national ambassadors at NATO headquarters in Brussels.
Rutte said NATO is “actively consulting within the alliance, with Ukraine, and with our Indo-Pacific partners,” on developments and that he is due to talk soon with South Korea’s president and Ukraine’s defence minister. “We continue to monitor the situation closely,” he said.
Implications of North Korean Troop Deployment
Adding thousands of North Korean soldiers to Europe’s biggest conflict since World War II will put more pressure on Ukraine’s weary and overstretched army, as well as stoking geopolitical tensions in the Korean Peninsula and the wider Indo-Pacific region, including Japan and Australia, Western officials said.
Russian President Vladimir Putin is keen to reshape global power dynamics. He sought to build a counterbalance to Western influence with a summit of BRICS countries, including the leaders of China and India, in Russia last week.
Zelenskyy Cites Imminent North Korean Military Arrival
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy , quoting intelligence reports, claimed last Friday that North Korean troops would be on the battlefield within days.
He previously said his government had information that some 10,000 troops from North Korea were being readied to join Russian forces fighting against his country.
US and South Korea Report North Korean Troops Training in Russia
Days before Zelenskyy spoke, American and South Korean officials said there was evidence North Korea had delivered troops to Russia.
The US said around 3,000 North Korean troops had been deployed to Russia for training.
(With AP inputs)
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