INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said Monday that North Korean troops were sent to Russia's embroiled Kursk region, decrying the
intelligence officials, Rutte said he could confirm that North Korean military units had been sent to southwestern Russia's Kursk
region."The deepening military cooperation between Russia and North Korea is a threat to both the Indo-Pacific and Euro-Atlantic security,"
Rutte told a press conference
"The deployment [of] North Korean troops to Kursk is also a sign of Putin's growing desperation."Ukrainian forces launched a surprise
incursion into the Kursk region in early August, initially taking control of a large swath of territory that Russian troops have since
gradually clawed back in counteroffensive operations.Rutte said more than 600,000 Russian soldiers have been killed or wounded since Moscow
launched the full-scale invasion of Ukraine nearly three years ago, adding the Kremlin was unable to sustain its war without foreign
support.Growing military ties between Russia and North Korea are a major concern for the United States and the EU, as Putin presses ahead
with his efforts to build an anti-Western alliance.Last week, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky warned that Russia was planning to send
North Korean troops into battle within days
He has claimed North Korea is training 10,000 soldiers to support Russia."This is an escalation
Sanctions alone are not enough
We need weapons and a clear plan to prevent North Korea's expanded involvement in the war in Europe," Zelensky's chief of staff Andriy
Yermak said on social media Monday, referring to confirmation of the deployment."Today, Russia brings in North Korea; next, it could broaden
their engagement, and then other autocratic regimes may see that they can get away with this and come to fight against NATO," Yermak added
"The enemy understands strength
Our allies have this strength."Earlier this month, South Korea, NATO and the United States said thousands of North Korean troops were sent
to Russia for military training.Rutte, a former Dutch prime minister who took over the reins of NATO just weeks ago, called on Moscow and
Pyongyang to "cease these actions immediately."
