The confirmation came after Ukrainian military intelligence registered the presence of North Korean units in Russia's Kursk region.

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte has confirmed that North Korean troops have been deployed to Russia, days after Ukrainian military intelligence recorded the presence of North Korean units in the Kursk border region.

The Ukrainian military has been deployed in the Kursk region since a major incursion in August.

Rutte said on Monday that the move represented a “significant escalation” of Pyongyang's involvement in “Russia's illegal war” in Ukraine, a violation of United Nations Security Council resolutions and a “dangerous expansion” of the conflict.

“The deepening military cooperation between Russia and North Korea poses a threat to both Indo-Pacific and Euro-Atlantic security,” Rutte told reporters after NATO officials and diplomats were briefed by a South Korean delegation.

South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol sounded the alarm about the troops in phone calls with Rutte and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, adding that Seoul would continue to consult closely with NATO.

US President Joe Biden also called the deployment of North Korean troops in Russia “dangerous”.

The US Pentagon had previously pointed out on Monday that North Korea had sent around 10,000 soldiers to Russia for training.

“Some of these soldiers have already moved closer to Ukraine, and we are increasingly concerned that Russia intends to use these soldiers in combat or to support combat operations against Ukrainian forces in Russia's Kursk Oblast,” Pentagon deputy press secretary Sabrina Singh said. to journalists.

Officials from Seoul 🇰🇷 have informed #NATO Allies and Indo-Pacific partners on North Korean 🇰🇵 troop deployment in Russia.

That is:

1. a significant escalation of DPRK involvement

2. a further violation of UN resolutions

3. a dangerous expansion of the Russian war. pic.twitter.com/0XEzz0d037

— Mark Rutte (@SecGenNATO) October 28, 2024

Kiev has called on its allies to supply more weapons and allow serious attacks on Russia, which invaded Ukraine in February 2022. Moscow has warned Kiev's Western allies against providing long-range weapons for use against Russia.

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha also stressed that Kiev had been warning about North Korea's deployment for weeks, but there had been no strong reaction from allies.

“Now the NATO Secretary General has confirmed this. Conclusion: Listen to Ukraine. The solution: lift restrictions on our long-range strikes against Russia now,” he said on X.

The Ukrainian president's chief of staff, Andriy Yermak, said sanctions alone were not a sufficient response to North Korea's involvement.

He said Kiev needed “weapons and a clear plan to prevent expanded North Korean involvement.”

“The enemy understands strength. Our allies have this strength,” Yermak said on X.

The Kremlin initially dismissed reports of a North Korean operation as “fake news”. But last Thursday, Russian President Vladimir Putin did not deny that North Korean troops were in Russia, saying it was up to Moscow how to implement a partnership agreement with Pyongyang.

In addition, a North Korean Foreign Ministry official did not confirm media reports of a troop deployment to Russia, but said that if Pyongyang had taken such actions, he believed it would be in line with international norms.