NATO confirms deployment of North Korean troops in Russia

The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) confirmed Monday that the North Korean regime deployed troops to Russia, without specifying how many, to help the Kremlin fight against Ukraine and Western forces.

"Today I can confirm that North Korean troops have been sent to Russia and that North Korean units have been deployed in the Kursk region," newly appointed NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said in a press conference.

He said that sending North Korean troops to Russian territory means "a significant escalation in the DPRK ongoing involvement in Russia's illegal war," as well as "another breach of UN Security Council resolutions" and "a dangerous expansion of Russia's war," and urged Vladimir Putin and Kim Jong Un to "immediately cease" their actions.

In summary, Rutte defined the alliance between Moscow and Pyongyang as "a threat to both Indo-Pacific and Euro-Atlantic security."

The United States estimates the number of North Korean troops at 10,000

Unlike Rutte, the Department of Defense (DOD), which already confirmed the presence of North Korean soldiers in Russia, did provide a figure and reported that Kim Jong-un deployed around 10,000 troops on Russian territory for training.

"We believe the DPRK has sent about 10,000 troops in total for training in eastern Russia, which will likely increase Russian forces near Ukraine in the coming weeks," Sabrina Singh, deputy Pentagon press secretary, said in remarks reported by AFP.

Earlier, the DOD had estimated the number of North Korean troops deployed on Russian soil at 3,000.