Rutte confirms presence of DPRK military in Kursk region: "This is significant escalation". VIDEO
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte confirmed Russia's use of North Korean soldiers in the war against Ukraine.
He said this at a briefing on 28 October, Censor.NET reports citing "European Pravda".
Rutte said that in the morning, the South Korean delegation informed NATO, as well as Japan, Australia and New Zealand, that its services were aware of the presence of the DPRK military in Russia and their involvement in the war.
Today, I can confirm that North Korean military personnel have been sent to Russia and North Korean units are deployed in the Kursk region... This is a significant escalation in the DPRK 's ongoing involvement in Russia's illegal war. This is another violation of the UN Security Council Resolution. Third, it is a dangerous expansion of Russia's war," the NATO Secretary General said.
Rutte stressed that NATO calls on Russia and the DPRK to stop these actions immediately.
"Deepening military cooperation between Russia and North Korea is a threat to both Pacific and Euro-Atlantic security," the NATO Secretary General added.
He recalled that the DPRK had previously provided Russia with ammunition and ballistic missiles.
"But at the same time, the involvement of the North Korean military in Kursk region is a sign of Putin's growing desperation. More than 600 Russian troops have been killed or wounded in Putin's war, and he cannot sustain his offensive against Ukraine without support from abroad... NATO Allies will continue to support a free and independent Ukraine, because Ukraine's security is our security," Rutte concluded.
DPRK Military Participation in Russia's War Against Ukraine
On 17 October, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that Russia was training ten thousand North Korean troops for the war in Ukraine, including infantry.
Earlier, the Washington Post wrote that several thousand soldiers from the DPRK are undergoing training 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 soldiers from the DPRK to be sent to the frontline in Ukraine is 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.
Later, the head of the Defence Intelligence of Ukraine, Kyrylo Budanov, said that nearly 11,000 soldiers from North Korea are currently training in eastern Russia to fight against Ukraine. They will be ready for combat as early as 1 November.
At the same time, Pentagon chief Lloyd Austin said that the United States has not yet confirmedthat North Korea has sent troops to Russia.
South Korea summons Russia's ambassador to Seoul over the DPRK's involvement in the war against Ukraine.
It was reported that eighteen North Korean soldiers had already escaped from the Russian army positions on the border of Ukraine with Bryansk and Kursk regions. Later it became known that they had been detained.
South Korea's Permanent Representative to the UN Security Council, Jongkook Hwang, said that Russia could pay for the participation of North Korea's military in the war against Ukraine with nuclear weapons technology.
And The Guardian wrote that Russia could send North Korean troops to capture Pokrovsk in Donetsk region or to conduct winter assaults on other important areas on Ukraine's eastern front.
Later, the Pentagon confirmed that the DPRK military had arrived in Russia.
On 25 October, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that, according to intelligence, the first North Korean military would be used by Russia in combat zones on 27-28 October.
