- North Korea has sent troops to Russia’s Kursk region, NATO confirmed
- The head of the bloc said that 600,000 soldiers were lost due to the Russian invasion
- Ukrainian troops remain in Kursk region after invasion
Vladimir Putin has lost more than 600,000 troops in Ukraine, forcing him to increasingly rely on foreign support for his invasion, according to NATO top brass.
The secretary general of the military bloc, Mark Rutte, said that as a result of the heavy losses, North Korean troops were sent to Russia’s Kursk region.
“Deepening military cooperation between Russia and North Korea is a threat to both the Indo-Pacific and Euro-Atlantic security,” Rutte told reporters after NATO officials and diplomats received a report from a delegation from South Korea.
Ukrainian forces conducted a major raid on Kursk in August and remain in the region.
Rutte said the North Korean deployment represented “a significant escalation” of Pyongyang’s involvement in “Russia’s illegal war” in Ukraine, a violation of U.N. Security Council resolutions and a “dangerous expansion” of the war.
Rutte said the deployment of North Korean troops was a sign of “growing desperation” on the part of Russian President Vladimir Putin.
“More than 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.
Ukrainian service members from the Hyzhak (Predator) special police unit fire a D30 howitzer towards Russian troops, amid Russia’s attack on Ukraine, near the border town of Toretsk, Ukraine, on October 25, 2024.
Vladimir Putin (pictured) has lost around 600,000 soldiers since he invaded Ukraine
Kim Jong Un (pictured) has sent troops from his country to help Russia in its invasion of Ukraine.
North Korean troops have been deployed to Kursk, NATO chief said.
He said the deal represented “a significant escalation” of Pyongyang’s involvement in “Russia’s illegal war” in Ukraine.
The Kremlin had dismissed reports of North Korean troop deployment as “fake news.” But Putin did not deny on Thursday that North Korean troops were currently in Russia and said it was up to Moscow how to implement an association treaty with Pyongyang.
A North Korean representative to the United Nations in New York called the reports “baseless rumors.”
Ukraine’s top presidential official said Monday that sanctions would not be a sufficient response to North Korea’s involvement in the war and called for more Western arms supplies to kyiv.
‘North Korean troops are already in the Kursk region… This is an escalation. Sanctions alone are not enough. We need weapons and a clear plan to prevent North Korea’s further involvement in the war in Europe,” Andriy Yermak, the president’s chief of staff, said in X.
He added that Ukraine’s Western allies should respond firmly since “the enemy understands strength.”
Putin and Kim clink glasses during Putin’s visit to Pyongyang
A Russian soldier fires a D-30 howitzer at Ukrainian positions in an undisclosed location in Ukraine.
It comes after Ukrainian intelligence leaked what it claimed was evidence that Russian troops were complaining about the arrival of North Korean fighters and arguing over how they would be equipped.
In one recording, a pair of soldiers can be heard complaining about the so-called ‘K Battalion’, referring to them as ‘damn Chinese’ and stating that one of their fellow soldiers had said ‘who knows what the fuck’. **we’re supposed to do with them.’
Another clip obtained by Ukrainian Defense Intelligence (GUR) appeared to expose the lack of communication and planning regarding the integration of North Korean troops with their Russian counterparts.
“He was just talking about Battalion K. I told him: ‘And who gets them weapons and ammunition?’ We have rations and, from what I have heard, they are for the brigade,” complained a Russian soldier.
“He said, ‘What damn brigade?’ You’re getting it all.” I just said I understood everything and went out to smoke.’