BRUSSELS — NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte has warned that if North Korea sends troops to Ukraine to support Russia’s war efforts, it would significantly escalate the conflict. Rutte made the statement on social media platform X on Monday, amid growing concerns about North Korea’s potential involvement in the ongoing war.
Rutte, who took office as NATO chief earlier this month, held discussions with South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol about the alliance’s close partnership with Seoul. The talks focused on defense industrial cooperation and the intertwined security interests of both the Euro-Atlantic and Indo-Pacific regions.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky claimed last week that North Korea is preparing to deploy 10,000 soldiers to assist Moscow, with reports that some North Korean officers are already stationed in Russian-occupied areas of Ukraine. The allegations have raised alarms in the West, which has long accused North Korea of providing weapons and military supplies to Russia.
Despite these claims, both NATO and the Pentagon have stated that they have not yet found any evidence of North Korean military personnel operating in Ukraine. However, Rutte stressed that any involvement by North Korean forces would dramatically escalate the situation, complicating the already tense geopolitical landscape.
The possibility of North Korean involvement adds a new layer of complexity to the Ukraine conflict, further linking it to broader global security concerns, particularly in the Indo-Pacific region. NATO’s ongoing cooperation with South Korea highlights the interconnected nature of these conflicts and the importance of international alliances in maintaining global stability.