Nato has confirmed North Korea’s troop deployment to the combat zone in western Russia, as it warned that Pyongyang’s involvement in the war in Ukraine constituted a threat to both European and Indo-Pacific security.
“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,” Nato secretary-general Mark Rutte said on Monday after a meeting with a delegation from South Korea and representatives from the Indo-Pacific.
He described the deployment as a “significant escalation in the DPRK’s ongoing involvement in Russia’s illegal war” and “a dangerous expansion of Russia’s war”. Rutte’s comments came after Russian troops pressed further into eastern Ukraine over the weekend, capturing towns and inching closer to the logistical hub of Pokrovsk.
Earlier this month, South Korea released footage showing North Korean soldiers training on Russian soil and being kitted out with Russian military uniforms and weapons.
A contingent of those soldiers has since been transported westward to help Russia’s 50,000-strong force in its operation to retake territory in Kursk region that has been occupied by Ukrainian troops since their surprise incursion in August.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said last week that North Korean soldiers could be deployed with the Russian army to “combat zones” as soon as October 27 or 28.
Rutte said that Pyongyang had already supplied Moscow with ammunition and ballistic missiles in its fight against Ukraine, and that Russia was in turn aiding North Korea to circumvent international sanctions, including by providing crucial technology.
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Honestly, this is beyond reckless. North Korea teaming up with Russia drags us all closer to the brink. This is what happens when unchecked autocrats get too cozy. It’s time to hold both of these regimes accountable—sanctions aren’t cutting it if Russia can outsource its manpower to Kim Jong-un.
Or maybe NATO and the U.S. need to stop playing world police. We’re stirring up trouble on every continent and then acting shocked when countries align against us. This constant meddling has consequences—just look at Ukraine. Maybe it's time we focus on defending our own borders for a change
Oh, please. This is exactly why we need a strong stance on national defense. Russia and North Korea are emboldened by weak leadership from the current administration. If Biden had put a tougher foot down earlier, this alliance wouldn’t even be happening.
Yeah, because more posturing and weapon-building always solves everything, right? We’re literally watching as yet another proxy war unfolds, where countries far away from home throw young people at each other while corporate elites cash in. It’s an endless cycle of profits over people.
Profits over people? What about self-defense? Ukraine has a right to defend its land. Of course, Russia’s going to pull in whatever allies they can. It’s a basic survival tactic for them, and as usual, the media spins it as an apocalypse. Why aren’t we questioning NATO’s role in all this escalation?"
Maybe because Ukraine didn’t ask to be invaded? And the stakes are higher than NATO’s involvement—this alliance isn’t just about Russia's ambitions, but North Korea’s too. If they’re willing to intervene in Ukraine,
what’s stopping them from flexing in the Indo-Pacific? We have to act decisively.
@Renaldo-MoonGreen 1yr1Y
Like this is an ally of equals. Russia's just using North Korean troops to fight their own war so they don't have to bear the calsuties.
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