North Korean soldiers reached Russia, NATO confirmed

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte confirmed that North Korean troops have been sent to Russia to support the nearly three-year war against Ukraine. Some of these troops have already been deployed in Russia’s Kursk border area, where Russia is facing difficulties in thwarting Ukrainian infiltration. Rutte told reporters that today, I can confirm that North Korean troops have been sent to Russia and that North Korean military units have been deployed in the Kursk area.

The confirmation came after a high-level South Korean delegation of top intelligence, military and diplomatic officials briefed NATO’s 32 national ambassadors at the alliance’s headquarters in Brussels. Rutte said NATO is actively consulting within the alliance, with Ukraine and with our Indo-Pacific partners regarding these developments. Rutte told reporters that the involvement of thousands of North Korean troops in the largest European conflict since World War II is expected to increase pressure on Ukraine’s already exhausted and overstretched military. Furthermore, deepening military cooperation between Russia and North Korea threatens both Indo-Pacific and Euro-Atlantic security.

Rutte described the development as a significant increase in North Korea’s involvement in the conflict and a dangerous expansion of Russia’s war. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said last Friday, citing intelligence reports, that North Korean troops would be on the battlefield within days. He previously claimed that his government had information that about 10,000 North Korean soldiers were being prepared to join Russian forces fighting against Ukraine. Just days before Zelensky’s statement, US and South Korean officials had already presented evidence of North Korea sending troops to Russia, with the US saying that about 3,000 North Korean troops were deployed to Russia for training purposes. Had gone.