Washington: The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) has confirmed that North Korea had sent troops to Russia to support its war against Ukraine, with some already deployed in Russia's Kursk region. “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,” AP quoted NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte as telling reporters.
Rutte described it as a “significant escalation” and “dangerous expansion” of the conflict. This announcement followed a briefing by a high-level South Korean delegation at NATO headquarters in Brussels. The update comes after leaked audio from Ukrainian Defence Intelligence revealed that Russian soldiers were concerned about the arrival and management of North Korean troops, reportedly moving into Russia’s Kursk region.
The development was also confirmed by the Pentagon, which said that North Korea has sent about 10,000 troops to Russia to train and fight in Ukraine within “the next several weeks", AP news agency reported. Pentagon spokeswoman Sabrina Singh said that the North Korean soldiers were believed to be heading for the Kursk border region.
