NATO: North Korea troops in Russia "a sign of Putin's growing desperation"

NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte said Monday that nan deployment of North Korean troops to Russia to bolster Moscow's warfare effort successful Ukraine was a motion of Russian President Vladimir Putin's "growing desperation."

"Today, I tin corroborate that North Korean troops person been sent to Russia, and that North Korean subject units person been deployed to nan Kursk region," Rutte told reporters astatine a property convention successful Brussels.

The move marks "a important escalation" successful North Korea's engagement successful nan conflict and represents "a vulnerable description of Russia's war," Rutte said.

Rutte said NATO was "actively consulting wrong nan alliance, pinch Ukraine, and pinch our Indo-Pacific partners," connected nan developments. He said he was owed to talk soon pinch South Korea's president and Ukraine's defense minister.

"The deepening subject practice betwixt Russia and North Korea is simply a threat to some nan Indo-Pacific and Euro-Atlantic security," Rutte said.

Adding thousands of North Korean soldiers to Europe's biggest conflict since World War II will heap much unit connected Ukraine's weary and overstretched army, arsenic good arsenic stoking geopolitical tensions successful nan Korean Peninsula and nan wider Indo-Pacific region, including Japan and Australia, Western officials say.

Soldiers march successful a parade for nan 70th day of North Korea's founding time successful Pyongyang, North Korea, connected Sept. 9, 2018. Ng Han Guan / AP

Russian President Vladimir Putin is keen to reshape world powerfulness dynamics. He sought to build a counterbalance to Western power pinch a acme of BRICS countries, including nan leaders of China and India, successful Russia past week.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, citing intelligence reports, claimed past Friday that North Korean troops would beryllium connected nan battlefield wrong days. He antecedently said his authorities has accusation that immoderate 10,000 troops from North Korea were being readied to subordinate Russian forces fighting against his country.

Days earlier Zelenskyy spoke, American and South Korean officials said location was grounds North Korea had dispatched troops to Russia. The U.S. said astir 3,000 North Korean troops had been deployed to Russia for training.

Haley Ott contributed to this report.

In:
• Ukraine
• Russia
• North Korea