NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte has issued a statement condemning the deployment of North Korean troops into Russia.
Speaking in Brussels on 28 October 2024, Rutte stated, “This morning, a delegation from the Republic of Korea, a close NATO partner, briefed the North Atlantic Council and our other Indo-Pacific partners – Australia, Japan and New Zealand – on North Korea’s growing involvement in Russia’s illegal war of aggression against Ukraine.
“The delegation included senior representatives from the Republic of Korea’s National Intelligence Service and Ministry of National Defence. Allies also shared their intelligence assessments,” Rutte continued. “Today, I can confirm that North Korean troops have been sent to Russia, and that North Korean military units have been deployed to the Kursk region.
“The deployment of North Korean troops represents: one, a significant escalation in the DPRK’s [Democratic People’s Republic of Korea’s] ongoing involvement in Russia’s illegal war; two, yet another breach of UN Security Council resolutions; and three, a dangerous expansion of Russia’s war,” said the Secretary General.
Rutte went on to state that the deepening military co-operation between Russia and North Korea “is a threat to both the Indo-Pacific and Euro-Atlantic security” that “undermines peace on the Korean Peninsula and fuels the Russian war against Ukraine”. He stated that Pyongyang has already supplied Russia with millions of rounds of ammunition and ballistic missiles that he said “are fuelling a major conflict in the heart of Europe and undermining global peace and security”. He also noted that Russian President Vladimir Putin is providing North Korea with military technology and other support to circumvent international sanctions.
“This underlines the importance of democracies standing together to uphold our values and to face our shared security challenges, but the deployment of North Korean troops to Kursk is also a sign of Putin’s growing desperation,” Rutte asserted. “Over 600,000 Russian soldiers have been killed or wounded in Putin’s war, and he is unable to sustain his assault to Ukraine without foreign support. This is because the Ukrainians are fighting back with courage, resilience and ingenuity.
“NATO allies will continue to support a free and democratic Ukraine because Ukraine’s security is our security,” said Rutte, adding, “Today, we discussed the need to further strengthen military support to Ukraine. We are actively consulting within the Alliance, with Ukraine and with our Indo-Pacific partners on these developments, and we continue to monitor the situation closely.”
The General Directorate of the Ukrainian Ministry of Defence has estimated that the number of North Korean soldiers transferred to Russia numbers about 12,000 personnel, including 500 officers and three generals.
South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol stated on 24 October that South Korea “won’t sit idle” regarding the North Korean troop deployment to Russia, calling it “a provocation that threatens global security beyond the Korean Peninsula and Europe”.
While South Korea has up until now supported Ukraine with financial aid and through supporting sanctions against Russia, Yoon has raised the prospect of overturning Seoul’s long-time ban on providing arms to countries at war.
