In a public statement on Monday 28 October, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte confirmed “that North Korean troops have been sent to Russia and that North Korean military units have been deployed to the Kursk region”, and that this proves the “growing desperation” of Russian President Vladimir Putin.
This is a “significant escalation” and a “dangerous expansion” of the war, added the NATO Secretary-General.
“The deployment of North Korean troops represents: one, a significant escalation in the DPRK ongoing involvement in Russia’s illegal war. Two, yet another breach of UN Security Council resolutions. Three, a dangerous expansion of Russia’s war” he explained, according to a NATO press release.
NATO calls on Russia and the DPRK “to cease these actions immediately. The deepening military cooperation between Russia and North Korea is a threat to both the Indo-Pacific and Euro-Atlantic security. Pyongyang has already supplied Russia with millions of rounds of ammunition and ballistic missiles that are fuelling a major conflict in the heart of Europe and undermining global peace and security. In exchange, [President] Putin is providing North Korea with military technology and other support to circumvent international sanctions”, added the NATO Secretary General.
Link to the statement: https://aeur.eu/f/e1z
During a telephone conversation on Monday with the President of South Korea, Yoon Suk Yeol, the re-elected President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, condemned the deployment of North Korean soldiers in Russia and the “increasing” supply of arms by North Korea to Moscow, according to a report published by the EU institution.
In her view, the deepening of military cooperation between Russia and Pyongyang constitutes “a significant escalation” in Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine which could even “embolden Pyongyang to further raise tensions on the Korean peninsula”. (Original version in French by Solenn Paulic with Mathieu Bion)