BRUSSELS – NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte confirmed on Monday that North Korean troops have been deployed in Russia’s Kursk region, underscoring a deepening military alliance between Moscow and Pyongyang. Rutte, addressing reporters after a briefing from a South Korean delegation, expressed concern over this development, calling it “a significant escalation” in Russia’s military operations in Ukraine and a violation of U.N. Security Council resolutions.
“The growing military cooperation between Russia and North Korea endangers both Indo-Pacific and Euro-Atlantic security,” Rutte stated, labeling the North Korean presence as indicative of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s “growing desperation” amid heavy casualties. With over 600,000 Russian soldiers reportedly killed or injured, Rutte suggested that Russia’s continued campaign is unsustainable without external military support.
Despite the Kremlin’s dismissal of the deployment as “fake news,” Putin did not deny the presence of North Korean forces, citing it as part of a broader partnership treaty with Pyongyang. Meanwhile, a North Korean U.N. representative in New York called the reports “groundless rumors.”