NATO cannot yet confirm DPRK troops’ participation in war - Rutte

NATO has no information that North Korea's military is involved in Russia's war against Ukraine.

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, Censor.NET reports with reference to Ukrinform.

Answering the question whether the Alliance has information about logistical operations to deploy North Korean troops to participate in the war against Ukraine, Rutte said:

"I can't confirm such reports, but obviously they are a cause for concern. What we do know is that North Korea is helping to fuel Russia's aggressive war against Ukraine. We strongly condemn the deepening military cooperation between Russia and North Korea. But at this stage, we cannot confirm the reports you are referring to."

The NATO Secretary General also added that North Korea, in cooperation with China and Iran, is helping Russia in this war. At the same time, Russia also pays for this support, and not always with money, but by providing its knowledge and technology in return.

"Russia does not receive this support for free. They give away their knowledge, insights, innovations. So it's a two-way traffic that is not always beneficial for Russia. But North Korea is a big problem for us, and that's obvious," Rutte concluded.

What was the background?

Recently, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said: "We see an increasing alliance between Russia and regimes such as North Korea. This is no longer just about transferring weapons. It is actually about the transfer of people from North Korea to the occupying military forces."

Earlier, the Washington Post wrote that several thousand soldiers from the DPRK are being trained in Russia and may be sent to the frontline in Ukraine.

In early October, South Korean Defence Minister Kim Yong-hyun said that the DPRK could send its military to the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine in support of Russia's war against our country.

The head of the Centre for Countering Disinformation, Andrii Kovalenko, said that the information about Russia's alleged preparation of DPRK soldiers to be sent to the front in Ukraine was not true.

On 15 October, the media reported that on the basis of the 11th separate airborne assault brigade of the Russian occupation army, Russians began to form a so-called "special Buryat battalion". It will be staffed by North Korean citizens.

It was also reported that on the basis of the 11th separate airborne assault brigade of the Russian occupation army, the Russians began to form a so-called "special Buryat battalion". It will be staffed by North Korean citizens.