NATO Chief Rutte: North Korean Troops Now Deployed In Kursk

NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte said Monday that NATO was now able to confirm that North Korean troops have been deployed to Russia’s Kursk region, in addition to those sent to training bases in Russia.

Rutte’s statement followed a briefing to the North Atlantic Council and representatives of Japan, Australia, and New Zealand by a joint delegation from South Korea’s National Intelligence Service and Ministry of National Defence. Intelligence assessments from other NATO members were also shared during the briefing.

In a statement to reporters after the briefing, Rutte said the participation of North Korean troops in Russia’s invasion of Ukraine was “one, a significant escalation in the DPRK ongoing involvement in Russia’s illegal war. Two, yet another breach of UN Security Council resolutions. And three, a dangerous expansion of Russia’s war”, urging Russia and North Korea to “cease these actions immediately”.

The Secretary-General continued:

“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. Pyongyang has already supplied Russia with millions of rounds of ammunition and ballistic missiles that are fuelling a major conflict in the heart of Europe and undermining global peace and security. In exchange, [President] Putin is providing North Korea with military technology and other support to circumvent international sanctions.

This underlines the importance of democracies standing together to uphold our values and to face our shared security challenges, but the deployment of North Korean troops to Kursk is also a sign of [President] Putin’s growing desperation. Over 600,000 Russian soldiers have been killed or wounded in [President] Putin’s war, and he is unable to sustain his assault to Ukraine without foreign support. This is because the Ukrainians are fighting back with courage, resilience and ingenuity.”

Video released by Ukraine’s Centre for Strategic Communication and Information Security of alleged North Korean troops receiving Russian Army infantry equipment ahead of deployment to Ukraine

Rutte added that he would be calling South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol and Ukrainian defense minister Rustem Umerov later on Monday as part of continuing “consultations” on Russia’s deployment of North Korean troops.

Yoon’s office stated last week that Rutte had requested a briefing from South Korea’s intelligence services following the Korean National Intelligence Service’s publication of evidence of transportation of North Korean troops to Russian military bases in eastern Siberia.

Seoul has also threatened to begin direct military support for Ukraine’s military in response to Russian use of North Korean troops, but the opposition majority in the South Korean parliament presents a major obstacle to the changes to Korean law needed to permit direct transfers of ammunition, soldier personal equipment and other weapons systems to Ukraine.