NATO confirms the deployment of North Korean troops that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky warned allies about two weeks ago. The Secretary General of NATO, Mark Rutte, has assumed that this sending of soldiers from Pyongyang has taken place after a high-level meeting with South Korea in which he shared information from the intelligence services. “Today I can confirm the sending of North Korean troops to Russia and the deployment of North Korean military units in the Kursk region,” the Dutchman solemnized about the sending of between 10,000 and 12,000 North Korean soldiers to the Russian front.
After the meeting, Rutte warned that this cooperation between Kim Jong-un and Vladimir Putin represents a “significant escalation” in Russia’s attack on Ukraine and has assured that the deployment of North Korean troops represents “another breach” of the resolutions of the UN Security Council and a “dangerous expansion” of war. In fact, he has warned that it is a “threat” to the Euro-Atlantic and Indo-Pacific regions and has urged Putin and Kim Jong-un to “immediately” cease the deployment of troops from a second country.
Furthermore, Rutte has assured that cooperation from Russia or North Korea “undermines peace” on the Korean Peninsula and global security. “Pyongyang has already supplied Russia with millions of rounds and ballistic missiles that are fueling a major conflict in the heart of Europe and undermining global peace and security. In exchange, Putin provides North Korea with military technology and other aid to evade international sanctions,” he added in a statement without questions from journalists after the meeting with the South Korean delegation, which has reported to the North Atlantic Council. and to partners in the Indo-Pacific region – Australia, Japan and New Zealand – of the situation.
Rutte has called for the “unity” of Ukraine’s allies: “NATO allies will continue to support a free and democratic Ukraine, because Ukraine’s security is our security.”
However, he has also assured that North Korea’s involvement demonstrates Putin’s “desperation”: “More than 600,000 Russian soldiers have died or been injured in the war in Russia.” [Presidente] Putin, and he is unable to maintain his assault on Ukraine without foreign support. This is because Ukrainians are fighting back with courage, resilience and ingenuity.” That same interpretation was made by the US. “Putin has become so desperate that he is now potentially requesting support from North Korea to put his personnel on the battlefield,” Pentagon deputy spokeswoman Sabrina Singh said at a news conference last Thursday.
At the last meeting with EU leaders, which Zelensky attended in person in Brussels, he warned them of the preparation of some 10,000 North Korean soldiers to join Vladimir Putin’s troops. “It is the first step towards world war,” he said.
Meanwhile, also this Monday, Sabrina Singh, a Pentagon spokesperson, stated that North Korea has sent some 10,000 soldiers to Russia to train and fight in Ukraine in “the coming weeks,” according to the Associated Press agency.
Some of those soldiers, according to Singh, have already approached Ukraine. “We are increasingly concerned that Russia intends to use these soldiers in combat or to support combat operations against Ukrainian forces in the Russian Kursk region,” he told reporters. Ukrainian forces launched a surprise raid last August in this border region, where they have maintained positions since then.
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