NATO chief confirms North Korea has deployed troops to support Russia

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte confirmed on Monday that North Korean troops had been sent to support Russia in its war against Ukraine, reflecting Russian President Vladimir Putin's “growing desperation.”

Rutte told reporters that increasing military cooperation between Russia and North Korea “poses a threat” to Indo-Pacific and Euro-Atlantic security.

“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 region,” NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte told reporters.

Russia is currently defending itself against a Ukrainian invasion of the Kursk region.

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North Korean soldiers march in a parade marking the 70th anniversary of the founding of North Korea on September 9, 2018 in Pyongyang, North Korea. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan, File)

Rutte said the inclusion of North Korean troops in the conflict represented “a significant escalation” and meant “a dangerous expansion” of “Russia's illegal war.”

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un (left) and Russian President Vladimir Putin smile during their meeting at Pyongyang Sunan International Airport outside Pyongyang, North Korea, June 19, 2024. (Gavriil Grigorov, Sputnik, Kremlin pool photo via AP, File)

“Over 600,000 Russian soldiers have been killed or wounded in Putin’s war and he cannot sustain his attack on Ukraine without foreign support,” Rutte said.

US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin confirmed the troop movement in a statement on Wednesday, saying it would be a “very, very serious problem” if North Korean troops were deployed to Ukraine.

The Kremlin has dismissed reports of North Korean troop deployments as “fake news,” while a North Korean United Nations official called the reports “baseless rumors,” Reuters reported.

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Rutte spoke in Brussels after a high-level South Korean delegation, including senior intelligence and military officials as well as senior diplomats, briefed the alliance's 32 national ambassadors at NATO headquarters.

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte confirmed that North Korean troops had been sent to support Russia in the war against Ukraine. (AP Photo/Virginia Mayo)

Rutte said NATO was “actively consulting within the alliance, with Ukraine and with our Indo-Pacific partners” about the developments.

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“We continue to monitor the situation closely,” he said. After the statement, he stopped taking questions.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.